It Can Only Get Better
by JulietZombie789
Summary: After living with her abusive father for the past 11 years, Sakura finds herself suddenly alone when her boyfriend of 4 years dumps her to get with her long time rival. Having no one else to turn to and no where else to go, she finds herself attempting to jump to her death. A stranger, however, comes to her rescue. Based in real world, a High school AU. Flames/Reviews welcome.Disc.
1. Sleep Well, Darling

Sleep Well, Darling

Sakura watched her ex from across the cafeteria, he was sitting surrounded by friends who were laughing and joking. To someone else it may have looked like he was joining in on the fun but not to Sakura. She could tell he was in his own little world, even if he was contributing to the conversation. _'One day, I'll get the courage to talk to him again'_ She thought as she picked up her empty tray and walked towards the exit where the trashcans were.

Halfway there a foot extended out in front of her, eyes widening she tried to throw her hands out to catch herself which only caused whatever trash she had left to be thrown forward on whoever was in front of her. Falling hard on her elbows she noticed the cafeteria grew silent, looking up slowly she saw why. Her trash was thrown onto her ex, Gaara, who was now looking at her with contempt.

"What The hell Sakura? Now you have to throw your trash on me?! Get over it already!" He shot up with such force that his chair fell back, his friends stared at Sakura with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Sakura could only watch as he walked away from her from her place on the floor, she quickly tried to get up and follow only to be pushed back down.

"Don't even think about it forehead, the last thing he wants is for you to follow him" her long time rival said with her foot still on Sakura's back. Ino and Sakura have been fighting for as long as she could remember, whether it was over toys or boys. Sakura always felt inferior to Ino due to the fact that Ino had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Comparing that to her pink hair and green eyes when everyone always prefered the latter, was in a word, exhausting. "That honor is held by me now," Ino continued, at the shocked look Sakura sent her she smirked "oh you haven't heard yet? Me and Gaara are dating as of two days ago."

Sakura threw Ino's foot off her and scrambled up and out of the cafeteria before anyone else could stop her. She knew where Gaara was going and she needed to apologize, she needed to fix what she mess up. She wasn't sure why Gaara had dumped like he had but she needed to speak to him, she threw open the door to the staircase that led to the rooftop.

He stood with his back to her, holding onto the rail that prevented people from falling. She knew that he was aware she was there by the way his shoulders tensed up. "Gaara…" he turned to face her, surprisingly calm. "Sakura, there is nothing I want to say to you and I would love nothing more than for you to just leave me alone already." She felt her heart break. He walked passed her and down the stairs, leaving her there alone.

She didn't know how long she stood there before she walked down to her locker and grabbed her things, from the look of it it was only about an hour after Gaara left. Deciding to ditch school, she made the long walk home instead of waiting for a bus like she usually would. Unlike most of the kids, she lived on the bad side of town with Gaara, which is how they were close to begin with. They were dating for about 4 years and he was all she really had. Her father was an abusive drunk and her mom left a long time ago to get away from it, but left with the promise to return.

That was 11 years ago, Sakura was now 17 years old with no hope of seeing her mother again. Gaara had given her someone she could lean on and would help her forget everything that was going on at home. She would often stay at Gaara's to avoid her father when he was particularly mad about something at work or at the bar.

* * *

She made her way into her home and tip toed past her passed out father, and quietly shut the door to her room. She crawled on to her old battered mattress that laid on the floor and pulled out her laptop that was hidden under a loose floorboard. Singing onto her email, she saw she had over 20 new messages. Confused at all the attention she opened up the first one, _"I can't believe you! You're disgusting and should just die after what you did to Gaara today at school. We don't even know why he dated you to begin with. Piece of filth. just die!"_

She read in disbelief, the rest of the messages were written similarly. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks as she put her laptop back in its hiding place. Pulling on her headphones she curled up under her thin blanket and cried herself to sleep.

"Wake up you piece of shit!" Sakura jerked awake at the sound of her father yelling. He yanked her up roughly and threw her against a wall, "You didn't tell me you were home bitch! I'm hungry, make me something to eat." Sakura scrambled out of her room and to the kitchen, the stove time said it was 2 in the morning. This was the first time he had demanded this, and she set to cooking some eggs and toast. A few minutes later she had the table set and waited, shaking, in the corner of the kitchen for him to finish so she could wash up. "What the fuck is this?" he demanded holding up the plate of hot eggs, "does it look like this is what I want?!" he threw the hot plate at her. It hit her in the face and split her lip before he advanced on her. "I'm sick of your shit girl" he grabbed her by her hair,

Sakura grabbed at his hands trying to get him to release his hold causing her nails to accidentally dig in too hard and break skin, "Damnit!" her punched her in the face. Skin split above her eye, blood started to drip on to the floor, "now you're going to make a mess too?" he threw her to the ground and kicked her, _hard,_ her breath left her so suddenly she started to see spots.

"I don't even want you in this house anymore, go live with your freak of a boyfriend." with a final kick and punch he picked her up and threw her out of the house and into the yard. "Don't come back!" he yelled and slammed the door.

Sakura laid on the ground, mind clouded by the pain, and just stared at the stars. She didn't know where she was going to go but she had to figure it out by sun up. Luckily it was a Saturday and she didn't have to worry about school, these wounds were going to cause a stir and probably encourage people to beat up on her more. Just like when they used to before her and Gaara started dating.

* * *

A few hours later, Sakura found herself standing on top of the school just looking down at the ground. _'How easy would it be to just jump, to stop feeling, to stop… Existing.'_ She thought, her headphones were blaring in her ears and the wind was blowing her pastel pink locks in her face almost teasingly. Curiosity getting the best of her, she stepped over the railing and looked down at the ground. It suddenly looked like a longer fall, her toes poking out over the ledge. _'I could just let go, and nobody would even care'_ she took a deep breath and started to let go of the railing. The wind seemed to be blowing so hard up that she thought, for just a moment, that it was trying to stop her… But wind can't beat gravity and she started to tip forward anyway.

"Stop!" she looked over her shoulder and saw a man running towards the railing, his long black hair blowing back from the force of the wind.

He threw his hand out over the railing barely catching her wrist, face twisted in concentration, he started to lift Sakura back up to safety. Being pulled over, Sakura collapsed onto her saviors chest in a daze, _'I almost killed myself'._ "What in the world were you thinking?" the man below her asked breathlessly. She looked up at him from her position on his chest.

"I was curious to see how it felt to not exist anymore." He stared at her incredulously, "What the hell… No come on, I'm taking you home myself." He rolled Sakura off his chest and stood up, he held his hand out in front of her face. "My name's Itachi, I just moved here." Sakura took his hand and allowed him to lift her up, "my name's Sakura…" he gave her a half smile, "hmm, it's fitting."

Without letting go of her hand he led her to the door of the rooftop, "what are you doing here anyway?" Sakura questioned. Itachi looked back at her and smiled.

"I just moved here and I'm scheduled to start school here on Monday. I figured I would set up my locker ahead of time and map out my classes so I wouldn't get lost." Sakura nodded in understanding. "Now you have to tell me what that was all about back there, curiosity itself doesn't make a person jump off a building." his hand tightened its hold on her hand and he had stopped walking to listen.

"I… I wouldn't mind explaining in a more private setting. It's really embarrassing and I wouldn't want anyone to overhear." She whispered. "Fine, then we'll continue this conversation on the way to your house." Sakura's head shot up, "no! We can't go there, he'll be awake and angry if I return"

Itachi looked at her questioningly, "my dad threw me out last night in his drunken rage, if I show up now he'll do more than just this" she motioned towards her face.

He nodded in understanding, "I wasn't going to ask about those, do you have any where else to go?" she shook her head 'no' and her eyes started to water. "Very well, you shall stay with me for the time being." he started walking again giving her no room for protest. Sakura simply stared at him in wonder, "then later, when you think he's gone, we'll go to your place to collect your things." She simply nodded and followed behind, still holding his hand.

* * *

Itachi had taken her out to eat and they sat and talked about recent events, she recapped her bad break up and drunken father, and even explained the bullying that would probably pick up again on Monday. Itachi listened intently and gave the proper cues that encouraged her to continue, reaching over occasionally to squeeze her hand in silent support when she started to tear up again.

"So… That's it" she said taking a sip of coffee. She waited for him to say something, she watched as he seemed to be deep in thought.

"Okay then, I don't normally do this but I seem to be drawn to you." he paused, "I would like to offer you a place to stay with me, permanently if you like, or until you find a way to move out." Sakura couldn't believe this, "but you barely even know me!" Itachi nodded his head in agreement, "you're right, but I happen to be a really good judge of character and I can't just let you be out and on your own for who knows how long." he stated calmly.

Sakura started to tear up again, "thank you so much." Itachi smiled softly at her and they finished their coffee in silence. "Ready to get your things?" Itachi asked, "yes" Sakura smiled. A real genuine smile, she couldn't help the feeling of hope that bubbled up in her stomach.

Itachi paid for their meal and led Sakura back out to his car, opening her door for her and walking over to his side. They drove in silence with the radio playing softly as background music, _'maybe things are finally getting better for me'_ Sakura couldn't help thinking. When they pulled up to her home Sakura took a deep breath and got out, when Itachi followed she looked at him in confusion. "I don't think he is gone and I hope he will not try anything when a stranger is on looking" nodding in understanding, Sakura continued to the front door. Finding it unlocked she opened it up and peeked inside, laying on the couch was her father passed out. An empty bottle on the floor next to him, visibly relaxing Sakura hurried to her room and grabbed her suitcase out of the closet. She quickly laid her laptop inside and started laying the clothes on top of it. Doing a once over of the room her gaze stopped on the picture of her and her mother, before she left her in this hell hole. They were both smiling, Sakura still small and her mother's eyes shining.

Finally making a decision she grabbed the photo and stuffed it along with her things, and started carrying towards the front door where Itachi stood outside waiting for her. Before she could open the front door wider she was yanked back by her hair, "what did you think I wouldn't notice?!" her father yelled. Sakura let out a yelp of pain and was held still by her father at the sound of the front door flying open so hard it hit the wall knocking down a few photos. Her father released the hold he had on her, "what the hell?" he was quickly silenced by Itachi's fist. Sakura sat frozen on the floor as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.

Her father tried to punch Itachi but only ended up punching air where he once stood. Itachi had dodged to the left and quickly hit her father in the back of the neck, effectively knocking him out. "There, now we leave." he turned to Sakura and knelt by her on the floor, "are you okay? Did he hit you?" after she shook her head 'no' Itachi grabbed her suitcase and helped her off the floor. "Well then lets move you into our home, shall we?"

Sakura smiled at the word home, "I haven't had a home in a long time" she said quietly. Itachi squeezed her hand softly, she smiled warmly at him.

* * *

The following day was uneventful and was spent furnishing the decent sized apartment Itachi had moved into. It was a two bedroom one bath, with a small kitchenette and dining area. A small balcony that overlooked the street below, since they were on the third floor (thank god for elevators). Itachi was very generous with his spending, Sakura came to realize, he paid for a new bed, vanity, and dresser for her room. He even offered to take her shopping for new clothes and shoes, but elected to wait outside when it came to her underwear shopping (which she was grateful for). They spent the whole day getting to know one another and came to realize they actually had a lot in common. They had similar music taste and both enjoyed to read, which Itachi was immensely grateful for, they both found that they even enjoyed the same T.v. shows.

That evening in Itachi's apartment, Sakura was trying to be helpful and was cooking dinner when there was a knock on the door. Sakura peeked around the corner to see Itachi open the door to a strange man whose skin seemed to be… Blue? "Hey! You're finally moved in I see, looking good man. Boss is gonna be real happy you're here." the man in question said. From Sakura's vantage point she could see Itachi didn't have any emotion on his face. "Mmmm, I smell food. What're you cooking man? Mind if I join you?" Itachi simply opened the door wider and Sakura quickly added more meat and ingredients to the stew she was making. "Mind if I sample real quick?" Sakura whipped around to come face to face with the mystery man, his eyes widened at the sudden stranger in front of him and time seemed to stand still. The spell was broken when he yelled out, "Itachi there is a woman in your kitchen!" at the top of his lungs

Sakura flinched at the high pitched squeal the man in front of her let out, "yes Kisame, there is" was the simple answer that Itachi gave from the living room. The man, Kisame, seemed to study Sakura for a bit, "well, you are very pretty. Are you dating Itachi or just staying the night" Sakura's mouth fell open in disbelief and she hit him over the head with the spatula still in her hand. "Who the hell asks that kind of question?!" she yelled as Kisame tried, in vain, to stop the assault on his head when Itachi entered the kitchen area. He took in the scene with a blank face and Sakura stopped her assault afraid that she had angered him, "use a clean spatula to mix, I don't want his germs in my food." he stated calmly and went back to the living room. Sakura giggled at the pout that Kisame had and proceeded to get a fresh spatula.

Rubbing his head dramatically, Kisame sat down at the small table they had set up. "Well I'm assuming you are neither his girlfriend or some random girl he picked up for the night. You live next door or something?" he asked a bit more politely. Sakura debated on if it was a good idea to let him know she would be living with Itachi for the time being. Itachi saved her the trouble, "she's living with me. I found her on a roof trying to kill herself and took it upon myself to bring her in." Kisame looked at Itachi in opened mouth disbelief. Sakura finally lost it, clutching her sides she fell over in laughter and only laughed harder at the look both Itachi and Kisame gave her.

"She's had a very rough 48 hours, I believe she's finally realizing her situation and is letting it out in the only way she knows how." Itachi stated simply and turned to return to the living room.

"Wait.. Wait.." Sakura managed to wheeze out, "this is bothering me soooo much, but why are you so cold all of a sudden?"

Kisame gave her a look of confusion "Cold all of a sudden? This is how he always is." he stated. "Nuh uh! He was very charming and warm all day today." she stated back matter-of-factly.

Kisame looked at Itachi questioning, "what the hell is she going on about?" he gestured at her still on the floor. Itachi didn't get a chance to respond due to the variety of flying kitchen objects heading towards Kisame's head, silencing him for the rest of the evening.

"Despite your violent tendencies, you're a great cook pinky, and I'm glad you'll be staying with Itachi. He can use the company and quite frankly, I was worried he'd never get a girlfriend." Kisame said casually after dinner. Sakura couldn't help giggling at the glare Itachi was shooting Kisame.

"Well I'm glad he offered to take me in and even paid for all my new things. I don't think I'd still be alive if it wasn't for him." she said collecting the plates and putting them in the sink.

"Sakura, I'll do the dishes. You've had a rough few days, I think it would be best if you showered and went to bed. We're going to school tomorrow and I feel it will be stressful on you." Itachi stopped her. Sakura smiled gratefully and placed the remaining dished in the sink. "It was nice chatting with you Kisame," she called over her shoulder as she headed to her room.

When she left Kisame turned to Itachi, "you think this is smart Itachi? What if boss finds out and doesn't want her around." Itachi ignored Kisame and started to run the water to begin the dishes, after adding soap to the water and grabbing a sponged he answered.

"If boss doesn't like it then he can find a new command, he knows just as well as I do, that he rules simply because I don't want to." Kisame leaned back in his chair, "true, so why did you do all this for her anyway?" Itachi paused in his washing to look at his partner.

"she was going to jump, to end her life, over curiosity of how it would feel to stop existing." Kisame couldn't seem to look Itachi in the eye, "so... " he began "this was really just you doing a good deed?" Itachi shrugged. "I'm drawn to the girl, I don't believe in coincidences and I can't feel any deception on her. She is simply a lost soul that is looking for somewhere to belong, I couldn't stop myself from opening up to her."

Kisame nodded at the honesty in his words and leaned forward once more. "Well I hope this doesn't blow up in your face, and if you need anything… Let me know." Itachi nodded and Kisame left him to his thoughts.

When Sakura got out of the shower she couldn't hear anything save for the soft music playing from Itachi's room. _'Hm, Kisame must of gone home already'_ shrugging her shoulders she proceeded to her bedroom and peeled the damp towel off of herself. Catching a glimpse of herself in the vanity's mirror she couldn't help but flinch at all the bruises and scars that marred her skin from past abuse. She turned away and quickly dressed for bed, turning on her small stereo Itachi had bought her and putting it on low volume, she climbed into bed and shut the lamp by her bed off. _'God finally answered my prayers and sent me an angel. Things are definitely looking up.'_

Turning onto her side she let the song 'Sleep Well, Darling' by Secrets lull her to sleep. A smile graced her lips as her final thoughts were of Itachi coming to her rescue, she was sure that he would no matter what the situation was. The fear and anxiety of tomorrow drifting away as she fell into a dreamless slumber for the second time in years, both times being with him.


	2. Let The Flames Begin

Thank you so much for the reviews, I really appreciate the input and the compliments. I'm not going to lie, the first chapter was a bit rushed because I was really excited to be posting my first story for people to actually **_read._**

I hope this can clear up a little bit of the confusion from the previous chapter, I hope to clear the air eventually but I needed a little bit of mystery for the story to truly unfold. So please bare with me while I figure out this writing thing, and I hope I don't take to long in getting to the main point or updating.

Again, thank you and I love to hear everything you have to say, flames/reviews or compliments and hate. Send them my way so I can continue to grow as a writer.

* * *

Let the Flames Begin

Sakura woke up the next morning to her alarm clock that she had set on her phone, for the first time in years she didn't scramble to turn it off in fear of it being heard. Letting a small smile grace her lips, she slowly got up to begin getting ready for her day. Picking out a pair of dark blue jeans and a Pierce the Veil band tank Itachi had bought for her yesterday, she set them aside and started brushing her hair in the vanity's mirror. Sitting in her underwear, she took a moment to study her reflection.

Decent bust, an okay waist, and a large forehead. The split above her eyebrow was healing nicely and would only leave a minimal scar, and the bruises that covered her ribcage and stomach were fading away.

Taking her eyes off her reflection, Sakura quickly threw on the articles of clothing she picked out and left her room to see if Itachi was up. She walked into the kitchen to see Itachi sitting there reading a newspaper and drinking coffee.

"There's still some left if you would like some," Itachi said glancing at her. Sakura nodded in thanks and fixed herself a cup, "we still have 15 minutes, would you like breakfast?" Itachi asked as he folded up the newspaper.

"No thank you, I can never seem to hold down anything in the morning. I'd rather not ruin the interior in your car." Sakura replied, a pink glow on her cheeks.

"Very well, would you like to leave then?" she only nodded her head and went to grab her bag and Ipod where she left it on her bed. Returning to the living room, Itachi nodded his head at her and opened the for her. Locking up behind them, they made their way to the parking garage. Instead of walking to the car like Sakura had anticipated, they walked over to a black bike parked a few spaces down.

"This is yours?" she questioned, Itachi nodded and opened the case that was connected to the bike. "Would you like to put your things in here or carry them as we ride?" he asked casually. Sakura gave him a blank look, then slowly handed him her things. She quickly put a headphone in one ear and fit the helmet he handed her over her head before climbing on to sit behind him. He reached back and pulled her arms around his waist, patting them to signal to keep them there. Sakura wasn't exactly sure why, but she felt so safe, even though it was her first motorcycle ride.

"Wait, you don't have one?" Sakura asked. Itachi shot her a smile over his shoulder and turned the bike on. "Until I can make a run to the shop I cannot grab the spare I have" was his simple reply.

He pulled out of the parking garage with ease and headed towards the school. Sakura let a stupid grin cover her face at the feeling of freedom she felt, which only boosted when Fall Out Boy's 'Alone Together' began playing in her ear. She started humming along with the opening line when they pulled up to a stoplight. Itachi couldn't help but feel content listening to Sakura hum in his ear, even if he could barely hear it over the sound of the motor.

Continuing on Sakura held tighter feeling completely comfortable with her arms around, basically, a complete stranger. Her smile didn't even falter when the school came into view, she felt she could take on the whole world in this moment. Wrapped around this man, riding this bicycle, with Fall Out Boy in her ear.

Finally pulling up to the school, they found a spot near the front of the school. Which resulted in getting the attention of each student in the vicinity. Itachi got off his bike and turned to help Sakura off as well. She was starting to feel a little nervous as she noticed the stares they were getting. Itachi took her hand and started to remove the helmet on her head. She closed her eyes tightly and waited for the inevitable, just as she thought, as soon as the helmet was removed a silence fell over the courtyard. Ignoring all the looks shot their way, Itachi grabbed Sakura's hand and walked past everyone and into the school. No one could mistake that pink hair for anyone else.

Sakura didn't relax until they made it to her locker to get the books she needed for her first period. "You okay? You seem a bit nervous" Itachi stated as he watched her move to open her locker.

"Yeah, just not used to all the attention" she added as an afterthought "or riding a bike." She grabbed her textbook and shut the locker. They turned to walk to first period and came face-to-face, to a girl with short blue/black hair. "H-hey Sakura, I thought y-you would like to w-walk to class w-with me," she whispered shyly.

"Hey Hinata, I'd love to but I wanna take Itachi to his class first. He's new here and I don't want him getting lost." Hinata nodded in Itachi's direction in greeting and started walking with them. "What have you been up to Hinata? I didn't see you last Friday." Sakura questioned.

Hinata was staring at her feet for a bit, "I was sick Friday." Even though Sakura knew it to be a lie, she didn't call her out on it. They walked in easy conversation until they reached Itachi's classroom, "It w-was very nice meeting you I-Itachi." Hinata said.

"Likewise," Itachi replied before turning to Sakura. She gave him a bright smile and threw her arms around his neck. Not expecting the sudden show of affection, he almost fell forward into her but caught them both just in time. Raising an eyebrow at her, she only smiled wider and loosened her hold.

"I really just wanted to hug you and thank you for everything, the school day hasn't even begun but I just kept help but feel it'll be great." Sakura said softly, Hinata blushed a light pink and turned to give them privacy she thought they wanted. Itachi hugged Sakura back lightly before pulling her arms down from around his neck.

"I will be waiting for you to come pick me up from class, do not take too long. I don't want to be late on my first day since I wasn't able to map out my classes like I intended to this weekend." Itachi said making Sakura smile sheepishly and nod in understanding.

Itachi turned and entered his classroom and Sakura and Hinata proceeded to their first class period together. Sakura and Hinata talked about their weekends, minus Sakura getting kicked out, and made it to class without incident. They both knew it was only a matter of time if the looks they received in the hallway indicated anything.

* * *

"Wow, I'm seriously surprised no one has approached me yet," Sakura later stated at lunch where she sat with Hinata and Itachi. Hinata nodded in agreement and Itachi merely raised his eyebrow in question. "Well usually by now I'd either have milk in my hair, or a bloody nose." Sakura informed him. His face scrunched up in a frown, and Hinata merely looked down looking sad.

"I w-wish I could do more f-for you Sakura," Hinata said. Itachi silently watched on as Sakura covered Hinata's hand with her own.

"Hinata, you being my friend is more than enough. I'm just glad that since your cousin is so well known that you aren't bullied just for being here with me." Hinata gave her a weak smile and continued to eat the apple she was currently holding. "Anyways, I've decided to join a self defense class or something."

"No need," Itachi finally spoke. "Since you're staying with me, you will be learning a few things. Kisame and were actually planning on starting you on training this coming week." Hinata's head kept turning between Sakura and Itachi, her face getting redder and redder by the second.

"L-l-living to-together?!" She exclaimed, Sakura gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry Hina, I was going to tell you but I didn't want to worry you… My dad finally kicked me out and Itachi took me in."

"You barely know him!" Hinata exclaimed without stuttering, standing up getting the attention of a few tables sitting near by. "Yeah I know I barely know him, but he was the only one there when I needed him." Sakura replied, her eyes narrowing at her friend. "Why didn't you c-come to me?" Hinata finally asked, head bent down to hide her eyes.

Sakura's gaze softened, "Hina, I didn't want to burden you with my problems, you have enough of your own as it is." Hinata's shoulders slumped a bit and she sat back down in her seat, people started going back to their own conversations as the lunch hour started coming to a close. "Look, how about you come over tonight and I tell you everything that's been going on, huh?"

Hinata nodded softly and threw herself at Sakura so suddenly that they flew back. Itachi watched on blankly as Hinata began apologizing over and over again with Sakura laughing. _'I'm not entirely sure what I've gotten myself into...'_ he thought. Finally he got up and helped both Sakura and Hinata up just as the bell rang. Smiling gratefully, Sakura took his hand and began leading him out of the cafeteria and towards their free period. Waving bye to Hinata, they left her to go the opposite direction.

* * *

Free period was boring for the most part. Itachi used the free time to read and Sakura used it to listen to music and doodle, every once in a while dancing in her seat. When she started to hum and dance, Itachi would look at her from the corner of his eye. He couldn't help the feeling of fondness he started to get for this girl, his pleasant thoughts were interrupted when he noticed someone trying to creep up behind Sakura. He glared at the sudden intruder and started to rise from his seat, Sakura noticing his sudden need to move, took out her headphones.

"Itachi, is something wrong?" the intruder stopped when they heard Sakura speak. Who ever the person was retreated and left the room as quickly as possible, but not before Itachi saw a glimpse of blonde hair.

"Someone was trying to sneak up on you," Sakura just nodded and put her headphones back in. It disturbed him that she wasn't more concerned, _'is she so used to it that she doesn't even try to prevent it anymore?'_ Itachi sat back down and picked his book up, but couldn't concentrate due to the fact that Sakura was now singing under her breath and dancing in her seat again. Only this time she was using her hands as well and her eyes were closed. She was so into the song playing in her ears that she didn't notice the amused look on Itachi's face or the glares being shot her way from the other students. _'I think Kisame will enjoy this little show,'_ Itachi pulled out his phone and began recording her just in time to catch her singing into an imaginary mike.

"Maybe it's not my weekend, but it's gonna be my year, and I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere. And this is my reaction…" Sakura sang as she began throwing her head left to right, making her hair fly. Itachi couldn't help but watch transfixed, outwardly showing no emotion and still recording. Inside however, the way her hair moved with her movements had him in a daze. _'This girl is something else... This girl is going to be my downfall' he thought._ "Cause I've been going crazy I don't want to waste another minute here!" Sakura finished into her 'microphone' and opened her eyes to an amused Itachi and a phone pointed at her.

Her mouth fell open in a silent, 'Oh' and then she started laughing at herself. "Oh great, I'm never gonna live this down am I?" she asked. Itachi shook his head no and put his phone away, safely tucked away in his jean pocket and started to get up. "Hey, where are you going?" Itachi gave Sakura a bored look, "I need to use the facilities."

Sakura couldn't help the giggle that escaped her, "Tachi' you talk funny." Glaring at the new nickname, Itachi left a still giggling Sakura and walked out into the hallway towards the nearest restroom. Pausing only slightly when he entered and met the gaze of a redhead in the mirror, the redhead in question turned a glare onto him. Ignoring the look, Itachi continued into a stall to his business, once done he opened the stall door to see the redhead still there, leaning against the wall next to the sinks.

Itachi continued to ignore his presence and washed his hands normally, finally having to acknowledge the boy who now stood in front of the towel dispenser. "Excuse me," Itachi said politely, the boy didn't move. Itachi studied the boy in front of him, dust red hair, pale green eyes and a tattoo above his eye. "So, you must be Gaara" he stated calmly. Gaara narrowed his eyes, his lip curling into a scowl.

"So Sakura told you about me did she?" Itachi shrugged at Gaara's question and went to leave, deciding to air dry instead and avoid confrontation. "Probably told you some sob story that I left her huh," Gaara called after him. Itachi stopped his forward motion, the silence that followed Gaara's statement started to weigh down around them.

"Do not flatter yourself boy, she simply described what you looked like and nothing more. In fact," he paused, looking over his shoulder to make eye contact with Gaara, "she hasn't even mentioned you again since the first day we met." Turning away from Gaara, Itachi continued on through the door and back towards free period where he left the girl in question. Leaving the boy in the restroom alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Gaara couldn't understand the feeling he had bubbling up inside him, he had felt anger before but this was different. Itachi's words affected him more then he was willing to admit. Finally deciding he spent enough time in the restroom, he left in search of his new girlfriend, Ino, she could always get his mind off of Sakura. Even if just for a minute, he would take it.

Looking for his girlfriend, he instead saw Itachi walking out with Sakura, they were holding hands and heading towards the front of the school. Deciding to follow the new couple instead, he forgot about his endeavor to find Ino.

He watched as they pulled out of the parking lot on Itachi's motorcycle, making a split second decision, Gaara jumped into his truck and followed behind them at a safe distance. He continued following them through various intersections, and finally parked across an apartment building where they turned into a parking garage. His eyes narrowed as he saw them both enter and not come back out for another 20 minutes or so. This time however, they came out with an older looking man that had a sickly blue color to his skin.

Deciding he had seen enough, Gaara drove off quickly to avoid being seen. _'I've seen that man before, he was talking to my father?...'_

* * *

Opening the door to the room he had left Sakura in, saying he was displeased at the site before him would be a dramatic understatement. Sakura stood backed up against the wall farthest away from the door, she was struggling with some girl who had her blonde hair up in a high ponytail. He couldn't help but feel pride at how Sakura suddenly head butted the girl and pushed her back off of her, giving her enough room to run towards the door and Itachi. The girl she had thrown off of her turned around to follow but stopped when she saw who Sakura was now standing next to.

"Oh, so you think your new boyfriend will do anything to help you forehead?" the girl said. Itachi recognized the nickname Sakura had mentioned that her main bully had dubbed her.

"Now I get to meet the infamous Ino," Itachi stated. Sakura looked up at him in confusion, "I had the pleasure of meeting Gaara in the restroom" Itachi explained. Sakura's eyes widened slightly and Itachi reached to grab Sakura's hand in assurance. "Don't worry so much, not everything ends in confrontation," Ino had enough of being ignored and being forced to witness their little 'moment' and decided to speak up.

"Yeah, bet you wish you met me first huh cutie?" Ino said with a wink. Sakura turned to glare at Ino and grasped Itachi's hand tighter. "What's wrong Sakura? Worried I'll take this one too? Gaara was oh so willing to be rid of of such a burden" She taunted trying to get a rise out of her. Sakura felt her resolve slowly breaking, she worked so hard to keep her feelings for Gaara from rising up that she began to shake. "Oh no, she's gonna cry" Ino started laughing, before she could say anything else Itachi broke in.

"I would never stoop so low as to get with a diseased riddled being, such as yourself" Sakura's eyes widened in shock and Ino's mouth fell open, then closed, then open again, like a fish. "Seeing that you don't have anything more to say, Sakura and I will be leaving now." Itachi turned dragging a half dying-half laughing Sakura behind him to get their things and leave the room.

Deciding to skip the rest of their afternoon classes, Itachi led Sakura to the student parking lot and towards his bike. "Did you see her face!" Sakura yelled, finally getting her breath back, "you are the first guy to ever turn her down like that, oh my gosh her ego must be so hurt" Sakura said while putting the helmet on over her head, only after putting in her beloved headphone. Deciding on My Chemical Romance for the ride home, she put her Ipod back in her pocket. Teenagers started to play as she climbed on to the bike after Itachi. "Teenagers scare the living shit out of me! They could care less, as long as someone'll bleed," Sakura started singing along as Itachi pulled out of the school parking lot.

Sakura, feeling more confident, rested her head against his shoulder and hummed in his ear. Shaking his head at her antics, he focused on the road in front of them, his goal to get them home as safely as possible. Not being able to help the small smile at the feeling of Sakura resting her head against him.

* * *

"Na na! Drugs, gimme drugs, gimme drugs. I don't need it, but I'll sell what you got-" Sakura busted into the apartment singing at the top of her lungs. Itachi followed more silently and watched in amusement as she started dancing around the living room.

"Aparently she's feeling a lot more comfortable," someone stated from being him. Itachi turned to acknowledge Kisame and they both watch the girl in question act out a part in the song dramatically. "Not so shy and soft spoken anymore huh?" Kisame said passing Itachi to pick the girl up and throw her over his shoulder. A startled yelp was heard as she was carried right back to the doorway and down the hallway. "Come Itachi! We start her training early, if she's got this much energy then we'll put it to use. I wonder if she's like a kid, ya know? Get them tired enough so they sleep early." Itachi locked the door behind them and followed the sounds of Sakura demanding to be put down and Kisame shouting in pain.

* * *

Sakura found herself sitting at their kitchen table a few hours later, utterly exhausted and not being able to move. "Why do you have to train so harshly? I thought you were talking about exercise, not throwing each other across the bloody room" she managed to gasp out. She glared at Itachi as he sat down, seemingly to not of broken a sweat at all. Turning her glare to Kisame, she felt a little better to see him sweating and out of breath, though not as bad as her.

"Pinky, you gotta start off strong and hard if you want to start being able to defend yourself. Not to mention I felt you had way too much energy and needed you to chill a bit" Kisame said as he went to grab them waters from the fridge. "Also, if Itachi is planning on what I think he is, then you most definitely need to be able to fight." Catching the glare Itachi shot him Kisame rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I'm assuming by the look you're giving me that you haven't told her yet?"

"Told me what?" Sakura asked, catching the water Kisame threw her way. Itachi looked at her momentarily before glaring at Kisame once more.

"We will discuss it tonight after Hinata leaves," Itachi stated as he got up to leave the room. "Oh, I made him mad. Sorry pinky, didn't mean to spoil your dinner." Kisame said heading towards the front door. With a wave behind his back he walked out the front door without so much as glancing back.

Deciding not to dwell on what was said, Sakura moved to start cleaning up the kitchen and prepare dinner. She winced at the sore feeling that was starting to set in to her muscles, she continued to pull out the ingredients that were needed for that evening's dinner. She heard the shower turn on before she turned on the bluetooth speaker Itachi had gotten her specifically for the kitchen. All Time Low's song Runaways was currently playing on her Ipod and she quickly forgot her aching muscles and started to dance while making dinner, singing along softly.

That's how Itachi found her after his shower, dinner was almost finished and she was currently rinsing out a pan she had used to steam the vegetables that laid in a glass bowl on the table. If she noticed Itachi she didn't show it as she started singing into the spatula about 'finding another heart to break' when Itachi decided to interrupt her. "Sakura, I think it's best that you shower before our guest arrives" he said loud enough to be heard over the music. She showed she heard him by the nod of her heard and shimmy she did out the doorway. "The spatula?" Sakura ran back into the kitchen and place the object in his hands before giggling and running towards the bathroom.

Itachi shook his head before going to finish dinner, he heard the shower turn on and started to spoon the portions of pasta on to plates to be served. He could faintly hear Sakura singing in the shower and couldn't help the small smile that softened his features, "'Cause I'm never going down, I'm never giving up. I'm never gonna leave, so put your hands up." Itachi found himself singing along.

' _I really have no earthly idea what I've gotten myself into,'_ Itachi thought as he made his way to the living room. Turning on the T.v., he tried to ignore the noise coming from the bathroom. Half way through his selected program, Teen Wolf, there was a knock on the door. Sakura had just gotten out of the shower a few moments before and wouldn't be decent to get it. Sighing Itachi went to open the door, opening it to show the shy girl from school and a guy she seemed to bring along.

Itachi gave a blank look a the guy who was currently glaring at him, "Hinata, you said your pink haired friend lived here. Father will be very disappointed in you when he finds out you lied to meet up with some random guy." The guy grabbed Hinata's arm and before Hinata could object, started to drag her away.

"Wait! I'm here Neji" Sakura pushed past Itachi, hair still wet, and grabbed Hinata's other arm. "I live here with my friend I swear, I have dinner ready for four if you'd like to join us. I assumed you would be accompanying her" Sakura reached for Neji's other arm and dragged both him and Hinata back to the door. "Itachi, this is Neji, Hinata's very protective cousin."

Itachi extended his hand in greeting which Neji readily accepted. Itachi raised an eyebrow at Neji's attempt to squeeze his hand, and started to tighten his grip as well. Neji's eyebrow twitched before he released his grip and let his hand fall to his side. "Now then, shall we all go inside? There's a draft in this hallway and wish to keep Sakura from getting sick." Itachi stated calmly while opening the door wider. Smiling brightly, Sakura dragged Neji and Hinata in after her and placed them in the kitchen.

* * *

An hour later, dinner was finished and the atmosphere was relaxed. Neji seemed to warm up to Itachi a bit as Sakura told the story of how she came to live with him, although he did question why he was 1. At the school on a Saturday and 2. Why he would let a complete stranger live with him. Itachi shrugged and told him the same story he told Sakura, "I was there to set up my locker and I couldn't feel any malicious intent coming off of her, so I offered her a temporary place to stay." Neji's eyes narrowed, not buying the story and Sakura's smile faltered a bit at the word 'temporary.'

Hinata nodded, "that's v-very nice of you Itachi, b-but we also came here to d-discuss something with yo-you…" Itachi nodded for her to continue. "We would be more than happy to have Sakura stay with us, people she knows, and to relieve your burden" Neji continued for his cousin. Sakura looked between Hinata and Neji in confusion, then at Itachi to measure his reaction.

The fear that Itachi would actually take them up on their offer, despite not really knowing him, Sakura didn't want to leave. _'Please don't kick me out, please let me stay...'_ she repeated over and over in her head.

"That will not be necessary, I find I enjoy Sakura's company and I believe she enjoys mine?" he added at the end. Sakura had a relieved look on her face and Neji looked ready to object, but stopped at the hand resting on his arm "Neji, if she i-is okay here then I th-think it's okay" Hinata said.

Neji looked at Sakura to see what she had to say, "I appreciate your concern guys but it's unneeded. I feel safe here, even comfortable, and I don't really want to leave." She assured her friends, "thank you for coming to dinner and voicing your concerns," Neji shot Sakura a disbelieving look "but I will be staying with Itachi for as long as he lets me" she continued. Hinata gave her a small smile and rose from the table.

"Thank you very much for dinner Sakura, Itachi, we should probably get back home before Hinata's father worries." Neji said before leading Hinata to the front door. Sakura and Itachi followed behind to see them off and lock the door. As soon as the door closed, Itachi noticed that Sakura seemed to fold over a bit.

"No one will look down on you for retiring to bed early Sakura, we had a hard training session and your friends were a little exhausting." Itachi said. Sakura merely nodded her head and started in the direction of her room. "Oh, and Sakura?" she glance at him over her shoulder, "you are welcome to stay as long as you please, temporary or not." Sakura gave him a small smile and continued on to her room. _'I have no idea what I'm doing anymore'_ Itachi thought to himself as he headed to his own room.

Sakura laid in her bed staring at her ceiling, the glow in the dark stars she convinced Itachi to let her get were giving off the soft glow that the package promised. _'I can't help it, I feel so at home here, with a complete stranger.'_ Thinking back to the questions Neji asked at dinner that evening, she couldn't help the confusion that started to set in. _'Neji had a point, setting up his locker on a weekend? Even if he is new, that's weird.'_ she turned over to look out the window to the right of her room. _'What if Itachi was lying about why he was there?'_ shaking her head, she tossed onto her side and turned on her small stereo. _'No use thinking on it now, I can always ask him later.'_

Sakura shot up in bed quickly, _'he didn't tell me what him and Kisame were talking about!'_ She fell back down and glared at the stars on her ceiling, _'guess I'll have to drag it out of him tomorrow.'_

Sakura let her eyes fall close to the song that was playing on her stereo. Paramore's song Let the Flames Begin lulled her into a confusing dream, she was in for a restless night.


	3. Lead Me Out Of The Dark

I was extremely surprised at the feedback I recived and hope I don't dissappoint with this chapter.

With the birth of my second niece things have been a little hectic and I'm having trouble finding time to write since I'm babysitting the three year old and working full time this summer, but I will be trying my best to keep the chapters rolling.

Again, thank you for the reviews and I can't wait to hear what kind of feeback you have for me. If you see any errors or have any comments feel free to send in a review and I will address it as best as I can, thank you!

-JulietZombie

* * *

Lead Me Out Of The Dark

Sakura woke up in a cold sweat, visions of her father finding her and killing her fresh in her mind. Looking over to see it was only 3 O'clock in the morning, she decided to get up and make some tea to sooth her mind.

She made her way to the kitchen as quietly as possible so she wouldn't disturb Itachi, and found a kettle to fill up with water. As the water started to boil she thought about her dream:

 _Sakura was running through the hallways of her school with her father yelling after her, she turned down a hallway and ran up the staircase that led to the roof. Looking behind her, she couldn't see her father anymore. She relaxed a bit believing that she had lost him and took a moment to look around. Everything was how she remembered except the sky, the sky was red with ink black clouds drifting lazily, almost like they do in the cartoons. She walked over to the railing she had climbed over when Itachi had saved her, she looked over to see only darkness. That was all it was all around, just deep black darkness._

 _She was turned around suddenly to come face to face with her father. A sinister smile twisted his face into that of a monster. His eyes held a sadistic gleam and his hold on her shoulders seemed to tighten by the second. "What Sakura, thought you could lose me that easily?" had spit in her face. Sakura started to thrash to try to loosen his hold on her._

 _He suddenly lifted her up and over the railing, Sakura's eyes widened as she hung in the air useless. She grabbed at his hands trying to hold on, her father laughed and let her go tumbling down into the darkness. A scream was stuck in her throat as she fell, and fell, and continued to fall._

 _She waited for the ground to come and meet her halfway through but was surprised when it didn't, she turned in the air to look down. All she could see was darkness all around her, it was never ending. It started to close in around her, making her feel suffocated, the air getting harder to breathe the deeper she fell. Finally she noticed she wasn't falling anymore, but floating…_

 _Panicking, she tried to start swimming in this deep darkness she was surrounded in. Lungs were burning for air and there was no giving in the water she was drifting in._

 _Slowly she started sinking deeper, and deeper…_

The kettle whistled and startled her out of her thoughts, she quickly removed the kettle and got down a teacup from the cabinet above the sink.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Itachi asked coming up from behind her. He reached over her shoulder to bring down another cup to join her. Sakura shook her head no and started pouring the cups full of hot water before grabbing the two tea bags and bringing them to the table.

"I had a nightmare," Itachi nodded for Sakura to continue, "my father was chasing me around the school before dropping me over the rooftop." She stated calmly before blowing softly at the steam coming from the cup.

They sat in silence, Sakura finding comfort in Itachi's presence. "Since we're both up, I feel I should tell you what Kisame was talking about earlier."

Sakura nodded hesitantly, suddenly afraid of what was going to be said. Itachi took a sip of his tea before he continued, "I came to this city for a reason Sakura, I was sent here to check on a certain project for my boss." Sakura looked at him questioningly, "I don't work for a normal company Sakura." Itachi continued, "I work for an underground organization, kind of like…" he trailed off looking for the right words. He was suddenly anxious, how was this girl he barely knew going to react, would she want to leave to live with her friends? Deciding to describe it the best way he could, he finally spoke. "It's more like a cartel then anything Sakura, I was sent here on an assignment to map out and scout the enemy organization to see if we would be able to move in to operate here or not" he finally stated.

Sakura's eyes widened, as a million thoughts ran through her head. She was living with a gang member basically, maybe even a drug dealer or worse. He was looking at her calmly as she processed the information, her face an open book to her emotions and he read each one as they crossed through her eyes. Fear, confusion, anger, then finally understanding. She looked him in the eyes with understanding and trust.

Itachi let out the breath he wasn't aware he was even holding and gave her a weak smile. "So…" Sakura started, "when you were at the school that day, on the roof, you were actually snooping?" Itachi gave a small nod in confirmation. "So that story you gave me about fixing up your locker and mapping out the school that day…"

"I was mapping out the school Sakura, just not for my classes" Itachi interrupted. Sakura nodded and took another sip of her tea, letting the warm liquid run down her throat and into her stomach. Enjoying the momentary warmth that washed over her, she closed her eyes and felt his aura again, noticing how much stronger she believed it felt since he told her the truth. Noticing how much it didn't break her trust in him.

"Okay then, I'm assuming that no one can know about your 'mission'" she said with air quotes. Itachi just nodded his head 'no' and got up to put his now empty cup in the sink. Sakura rose to do the same and Itachi took her cup with his to the sink to be washed later.

"Hmm, no problem, I'm a pro at keeping secrets but since we're living together I should probably tell you another tidbit about Gaara." Sakura couldn't see the way Itachi's eyes narrowed at the mention of the red headed ex. Not taking notice at how tense he had become she continued, "he's the son of the head of the other major cartel in the city." Itachi whirled around on her with visible shock on his face. Sakura gave him a bright smile in response, "that's why I'm not so shocked or scared, I'm hoping with me telling you this that you won't let anything slip while at school."

Recovering, Itachi walked over to Sakura and wrapped her in a hug. Sakura's eyes widened as she hesitantly returned his embrace, "you have no idea how much that little piece of information has helped me" Sakura smiled at his words, "and now that you know," he continued pulling away from her "I can conduct the business that needs to be done here, that just means we must continue your training."

Sakura pouted at his words but smiled brightly at hearing she helped him with the information she had, "I can give you more information if you like, he used to confide in me a lot of things." She paused, "I usually don't just do this but… He's dating that blonde bimbo from school and I already know he told her a few secrets about me, her friends have already started rumors around the school about my dad."

Itachi nodded in understanding, "I will not judge you for giving away secrets about someone you once trusted, he brought this upon himself." Sakura nodded and turned around to head to her room, "oh and Sakura, if you need anything, don't be afraid to knock on my door."

Sakura smiled at him from over her shoulder and continued to her room, Itachi following and turning into his own room.

* * *

Sakura couldn't help the warm feeling that was spreading from her stomach to the rest of her body, it was unlike anything she had felt before. Was it because she knew she was gaining Itachi's trust and getting close to him, or was it her feelings for the said man growing? Either way Sakura didn't mind, she turned over onto her side and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Itachi laid in his bed thinking about the conversation he had just had with Sakura in the kitchen. He was not a fool, he knew he was growing feelings for the girl. Was it safe, was it a smart thing to do? Probably not, but he couldn't help how she just wormed her way right through his defenses. He was able to turn down countless women but this one was different, from her pink hair to her bright emerald eyes, she was just completely different than anything he had ever encountered before.

He thought back to his ex who had practically thrown herself at him, how he turned her down countless times but finally gave in if only to shut her up. They dated for a month before Itachi finally broke it off with her saying that he just didn't return the feelings she had for him. She had screamed and thrown a fit but it couldn't be helped, he just refused to carry on the charade for her sake and would not bend to the whim of someone he simply didn't care for.

He remembered the way her red eyes narrowed from behind her glasses, how high her voice had pitched and even the day after when he found her all over his little brother in an attempt to make him jealous. That was simply horrendous, but definitely entertaining when his little brothers boyfriend walked in and got in her face for being a 'red headed tramp who was gene hopping.' _'That's right, I should probably let Sakura know that my little brother will be visiting soon, she won't like to be blind sided .'_ Nodding to himself, he decided to tell her in the morning before they left for school, it was only Tuesday and Sakura will be very surprised when she finds out that family will be visiting and that they would be adding onto her training load to prepare her for her meeting with the others in the organization in a few months.

* * *

That morning when Sakura awoke, something felt different in the apartment. Sitting up quietly, she pulled the covers off and reached for the knife Kisame had given her the day before in case of emergencies. She cracked her door open just a bit, enough for her to peek into the hallway. Not seeing anything she opened her door wider and walked as silently as she could to the living room, she saw Itachi sitting in his usual spot at the kitchen table and took notice of two more people sitting with him. Itachi looked up at her and raised an eyebrow at the knife in her hand, shaking his head he returned to reading the paper in his hands.

She looked over the two strangers in her kitchen, one had the same color hair as Itachi and the other had a bright blonde almost yellow hair color. She cleared her throat and the two boys turned to look at her, both shocked to see her standing there in her pajamas.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my brother's apartment" the dark haired one asked kind of rudely. Sakura was shocked at his rudeness to say the least, knowing he was Itachi's brother made her bite her tongue and turn red in embarrassment. She quickly turned back around and went back to her room to hide and change for school.

* * *

Back in the kitchen Itachi folded the newspaper and set in on the table in front of him, "Sasuke, that was incredibly rude and I expect you to apologize to her when she returns." Sasuke rolled his eyes at his brother, "why? She's probably just some stupid fan girl who wormed her way in again, just like Karin." At the mention of the red heads name, all three at the table shuddered.

"You know she's still asking about you and stopping by to see if you've come back home yet. She won't accept that you've moved away for good." Sasuke said "I just hope this one isn't as psycho as her" he finished, not noticing the glare he was receiving from Itachi.

The blonde beside him nudged him in the ribs, "what Naruto?" Sasuke asked his companion. Naruto nodded his head in the direction of Itachi with wide eyes. Sasuke looked over at Itachi and felt his blood run cold at the glare he was on the receiving end on.

"Sakura is my new room mate, not a fangirl or a girlfriend, and if she were it would be my business not yours. She didn't throw herself at me like Karin did, I actually came to her in her time of need so you **will** apologize to her when she returns" Itachi said in a deathly calm voice. Sasuke and Naruto's eyes were wide and both had gone pale, all Sasuke could manage was a nod.

Sakura finally emerged from her room with her book bag and Ipod already in, she was staring at her feet when she walked into the kitchen. Avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room, she went to grab a pop-tart from the package and stick it in her book bag.

Taking a deep breath she took a headphone out of her ear and turned around slowly, first she made eye contact with Itachi who gave her a small smile. Next was the blonde boy seated to Itachi's brother, and finally the brother who didn't want her there.

"Sakura, my little brother has something he would like to say to you" Itachi said breaking the awkward silence that fell over the kitchen at her arrival.

Sasuke took a deep breath before opening his mouth, "Sakura is it? I would like to apologize for my rude remark earlier, I was not aware of the living arrangements and thought you were a stalker like Itachi's ex girlf-" Sasuke was cut off by a flying newspaper. Itachi slowly lowered his arm and looked at Sakura calmly while Sasuke rubbed his nose where Itachi had hit him with the newspaper.

"That is a story for later Sakura, right now we're all going to be late for school and I need to get these two there so they can finish enrolling." Sakura nodded her head slowly as she processed the new information.

' _Great, now I have a spiteful brother to look out for and I don't even know how the blonde is yet...'_ Sakura thought as she followed the guys out the door and down towards the parking garage.

This time instead of heading over to the bike, they walked over to Itachi's black Dodge Charger and piled in. Sakura offered to sit in the back but Itachi quickly silenced her and made her sit in the passenger seat making Sasuke and Naruto sit in the back. "Sakura, I didn't get the chance to formally introduce you to my little brother Sasuke, and his boyfriend Naruto" if Sakura was shocked to hear that his little brother was gay, she hid it well with a smile she sent them over her shoulder. "I meant to tell you they were moving down but didn't get the chance to last night, that and they came down earlier than intended" Itachi finished as they pulled up to a stoplight.

Sasuke had a scowl on his face, "yeah well dad finally lost it and kicked me out, didn't really have a choice." He said as he stared out the window, Naruto grabbed his hand reassuringly but quickly removed his hand from Sasuke's when he glared at him. Sakura made eye contact with Naruto and sent him a sympathetic smile and turned to turn on the radio. Switching it to Aux cord she connected her Ipod and threw it on shuffle.

She smiled and closed her eyes while leaning her head against her headrest when Neck Deep came on playing A Part of Me. Everyone in the car felt her aura relax and couldn't help but feel relaxed as well, and that's how the rest of the drive to the school was.

They arrived at the school and parked somewhere towards front, Sakura and Itachi immediately noticed the hostile environment and without realizing it Sakura walked closer to Itachi. Naruto and Sasuke walked behind them a little confused at all the attention the couple in front of them were receiving. Sasuke walked a little closer to his brother, ready for any attacks that may come their way while Naruto moved close to Sakura.

They walked into the school building and almost immediately students started moving out of their way, "well that's a first" Sakura said out loud as she led the way to her locker to drop off the books she didn't need. Before she could open it however, Itachi stopped her and pointed out a dent at the bottom of lockers door. Moving Sakura back a few feet, he yanked it open and out came a bunch of frogs that were meant to fall on her.

Sakura looked down at her feet and let Itachi remove any remaining frogs before he put her books in for her. He gently grabbed her hand and started leading them towards the front office, both to enroll his brother and to put in a harassment complaint with the principal.

* * *

"I bet she cried"

"Well I bet she screamed,"

"That's easy, I bet she cried and that her new boyfriend dumped her for being such a loser." Ino said to the girls sitting around her. The two girls sitting with her nodded there heads in agreement and started to laugh some more, but stopped when they saw Sakura enter the cafeteria smiling widely and frog free. Also taking notice of the two new additions to the group as they made their way over to the table that Hinata was currently occupying.

"Um, Ino you might want to see this" the dirty blonde that was sitting with her said quietly. Ino turned in the direction that she was pointing and clenched her fist in anger.

"Who the hell does she think she is? How did the prank go wrong?" a frog fell in front of the girls and they each screamed and jumped up to move. Ino backed up into a firm chest and froze, the hairs on the back of her neck were standing on edge as she slowly turned around to face who she bumped into.

"I'm going to assume that you had something to do with the frogs in Sakura's locker" Itachi said calmly as he stared down at the girl in front of him. Ino nodded dumbly, admitting to prank, and backed up into her friends who were also cowering in fear.

"Hey, leave her alone, I was the one who gave her the idea to begin with" came a voice from behind them. Itachi looked over the girls head to make eye contact with Gaara's cold unwavering glare.

"I had no doubt in my mind that you would use Sakura's fear of frogs against her, I was simply stating that she also had something to do with it" was Itachi's simple reply. Gaara's eye narrowed further as Ino ran to hide behind her boyfriend, Itachi then turned his back on them and made his way to the table that Sakura was sitting at with her shy friend and his brother.

Gaara clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles turning white with the strain. "Gaara, what do we do now?" Ino asked from behind him. Gaara turned his cold gaze on the girl he had left Sakura for, he couldn't believe he was dating this idiot. He left Sakura thinking he was getting the better deal, Ino was easy and didn't come with a lot of baggage, sadly she lacked brains, creativity, and looks.

In comparison to Sakura's pink hair, Ino's blonde hair just couldn't compete and sure her blue eyes were beautiful but they didn't shine the way Sakura's emerald eyes did when something made her happy. Sighing, Gaara walked away leaving Ino behind with her friends to discuss plans, he had to go away to think things over. He shouldn't be feeling regret over leaving Sakura, she always leaned on him too much and made him feel like it was his job to make her happy and fix her problems.

Sakura never asked anything of him like Ino did, it was always "get me this" and "get me that" with that girl. She was just never satisfied and she always wanted to go out and do something, where Sakura just wanted to stay in and lay on the bed while listening to music. Gaara never really liked Sakura's taste in music but never complained because it always made her happy.

Gaara soon found himself on the roof at his usual thinking spot, he couldn't believe it. _'I actually miss Sakura, like I miss her presence and her music. This wasn't suppose to happen, I wasn't suppose to fall for her...'_ he thought as the first bell rang signalling the beginning of school. Deciding to be late, he stayed on the roof a few moments longer just feeling the wind play with his short red hair.

* * *

Back in the cafeteria, Sakura was doing introductions as Itachi was walking up. Nodding at Hinata and her cousin Neji, who had walked up at the same time as him, he sat down beside Sakura and put his arm around the back of her chair protectively. The group chatted idly until the first bell rang, "Sakura, what's your first class?" Sasuke asked as they all got up to go to class.

"I have English first period with Kurenai" Sakura replied, "what do you have?" Sasuke pulled out his schedule and handed it to her, he was a little embarrassed at needing directions but hid it by looking away with a scowl. "Oh wow, we have the same class. You can sit with me and Hinata then, we'll show you the way" she smiled brightly.

Naruto handed his schedule to Neji and found he shared first period with both Neji and Itachi. The group said their goodbye's and went off in the direction of their designated classes.

Sakura entered the classroom behind Hinata, and walked to the back of the classroom to her claimed seat. Sasuke sat beside her and Hinata sat on the other side of her in the back corner.

"Hey Sakura, Itachi didn't tell me a whole lot about how you came to be staying with him. I don't mean to pry but I'm actually curious as to why he allowed you to actually move in with him" Sasuke whispered as more students started coming in talking loudly.

Sakura's face turned red and she stared down at her hands resting in her lap, "well… Your brother found me on the roof of the school." Sasuke nodded his head at her to continue, "he um.. Saved me from falling to my… Death." She finally finished, Hinata was silent beside her and Sasuke just stared at her blankly.

' _So Itachi saved her life, but that doesn't explain why he's so protective of her'_ Sasuke thought to himself as he sat back in his chair. Sakura hadn't looked back up from her hands and they sat in an awkward silence for a while.

The silence was broken however when one of Ino's friends, Amy, walked in and made a beeline for Sakura's desk. "Hey pinky, what the hell was that fiasco this morning in the cafeteria. Didn't you get our little presents we left for you in your locker" the brunette snapped. Sakura still hadn't looked up and Hinata could only watch on at what she knew was coming.

Sasuke watched silently as the girl knocked Sakura's journal to the ground, making it slide underneath Hinata's desk. "I'm talking to you freak, I don't like being ignored and Ino doesn't like it when her plans don't go as.. Well.. Planned!" she slammed her hands on Sakura's desk making her flinch involuntarily.

"I don't actually care what Ino wants, and I wish you would stop yelling so loudly" Sakura replied finally looking up to look at her harasser. Sasuke could see her fidgeting with her hands beneath the table, she kept her face blank however as the girl in front of her grew angrier.

"I hate the way to speak to your superiors!" the girl screeched and raised her hand up to slap Sakura. Sakura closed her eyes tightly as Amy's hand started coming down to make contact with her face but reopened them when she heard Amy yelp in surprise. She saw Sasuke holding her by her wrist and Amy's eyes were wide as pain filled them, her eyes started to water as she struggled to break free of Sasuke's hold on her.

"You will not lay a hand on her," Sasuke said darkly. Every one in the classroom was now staring at the back of the classroom and that's how the teacher walked in.

"What's going on here, what's the meaning of this!" Kurenai exclaimed as she made her way to the back of the classroom to where Sasuke was now standing in front of Sakura's desk. He quickly release Amy but continued to stand in front of Sakura protectively as the teacher got closer.

"He hurt me Ms.! Sakura too!" Amy tried saying, Sasuke glared at her and looked at the teacher to see if she bought it.

"Keep quiet Amy, you and I both know you usually start anything that has to do with Sakura, return to your seat and get your paper out" Kurenai replied, "everybody get the paper assignment out that was due today, thanks to Amy you get to turn it in now instead of after school." The classroom groaned and some rude remarks were made in Amy's direction as they walked to the front of the classroom to turn in their assignments.

"Thank you…" Sakura said so quietly that Sasuke almost missed it as he sat back down in his seat. "Hn, don't even worry about it, I hate bullies" Sasuke replied while putting his elbows on his desk and resting his chin against his folded hands. Sakura smile warmly and moved to turn in her assignment, after Sasuke stood up for Sakura, no one even made a move to trip her on her way up to the front or even on her way back.

* * *

At lunch that day the table was full with Sakura, Itachi, Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, and even Neji decided to join them. Hinata told the story of how Sasuke stood up to Amy like she was talking about a real life hero, Sasuke blushed a light pink and looked in every direction except theirs and Itachi patted Sakura's head in a sign of affection.

Both Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help at being perplexed at the way Itachi was acting and the way he was treating this girl. Sure he was still cold but they could see, just around the edges, how different he actually was.

Naruto watched Itachi in the class he shared with him and Neji and it was like nothing had changed. He was still cold and unapproachable, but as soon as Sakura came into the room it was like a weight was lifted of his shoulders and his aura relaxed and brightened. Naruto couldn't deny that Sakura had this light about her, he could see the darkness that tried to weigh her down, as he was sure everyone else could, and was awed at how brightly she still smiled and the spring that was in her step.

Both Naruto and Sasuke watched closely at how Itachi interacted with Sakura that day, taking note at how at lunch when she tried to eat a piece of lasagna that was particularly to large he made her put it down and cut it properly. They watched how he would walk her to each of her classes and how he would check her locker first before she opened it herself, but what really blew their mind and made them see what Itachi saw, was when a guy tried to pick on Sakura in front of him at the end of school.

This guy walked up to her without a care in the world and slapped the book she was looking at out of her hands. Sakura ignored him and went to pick it up just to have it kicked away and a little ways down the hallway. "Can I help you Kiba?" Sakura asked politely standing up to look at him, the guy Kiba just shot her a grin and walked up closer to her, invading her personal space while doing so.

"Yeah you can, I heard Gaara dumped you and you jumped in the sack with tall and dark over here. Was curious to see if you wanted to jump into my bed next?" he wiggled his eyebrows and went to corner her between the lockers. Before he could make another move on her, he was being pulled back by his collar and thrown across the hallway and into a locker.

The hallway grew silent and everyone stopped to watch the fight about to break out. "I suggest you keep your distance from Sakura or I will be forced to make you" Itachi said from where he still stood beside Sakura. Naruto walked up with the book Sakura was holding before Kiba slapped it out of her hands, and handed to Sakura quietly. Sakura nodded in thanks and seemed to curl in on herself as she clutched to book to her chest.

Naruto felt anger surge through him at how Sakura looked, the light in her seemed to dim with the darkness that Kiba brought. The smile that was once gracing her features now drawn into a frown and the song she was humming turned silent. _'How can anyone be so mean to this sweet girl, she's been nothing but nice'_ he thought as he turned to glare at the offender that dimmed her light "what the hell is your problem?" he exclaimed.

Kiba brushed himself off and glared at the blonde that was now standing in front of him, "I'm sorry buddy, did you have dibs next?" Naruto scowled at what Kiba said and before anyone could react Naruto had him against the locker. His face was inches away from Kiba's and his arm was across his chest to hold him in place.

"No, I don't have dibs, and neither does anyone else for that matter. If you know what's good for you, you won't ever approach Sakura again, do you understand me?" Naruto spoke dangerously low. Everyone in the hallway was still unmoving and silent when Kiba made his escape out the doors and could only watch in stunned silence as Sakura was led out by her three new protectors.

Soon it would be spread around the whole school that she was no longer touchable, and that's exactly what her two new friends wanted. They finally understood what Itachi was seeing in this girl and felt the same protectiveness with a few differences.

* * *

Later that evening, they were all sitting around Sakura and Itachi's kitchen table with take out boxes everywhere. They had all just returned from a grueling training session and decided to relax for the rest of the night before Sasuke and Naruto headed out to their own place. "So Sakura, how did you come about staying with Itachi?" Naruto asked conversationally.

Sakura grew a little quiet and Itachi placed his take out container on the table, "Naruto, if you are truly curious you can speak to me about it later. The subject is a touchy one with her" he said. Naruto nodded in understanding and continued eating his food in silence.

"Oh I know what we can talk about!" Sakura spoke up suddenly. They all nodded at her to continue, "what's with this psycho Sasuke mentioned earlier?" Itachi's eyes widened slightly and Naruto started laughing so hard he started to choke. Sasuke patted him on the back until he got his breathing under control and then turned to see how Itachi would react.

He merely sighed and slouched his shoulders, "I'm guessing there's no getting out of this one is there?" he asked. Sakura shook her head 'no' with a bright smile on her face, and turned her body to face Itachi like a little kid would when being told a story. Naruto grinned at her reaction and Sasuke leaned back in his chair to listen to how his brother would tell the story as well.

"It was a few months before I moved here actually, I was in a relationship with a girl named Karin," Itachi started. "Karin was bothering me a lot about going out with her, so I finally agreed to it just to shut the girl up."

"Obviously that made it worse" Sasuke interrupted. Naruto nodded beside Sasuke and started picking at his noodles. "She ended up coming over almost everyday, sometimes Itachi would wake up to find that she snuck in through his window to watch him sleep."

Itachi shuddered at the memory and looked at Sakura to see her holding her hand over her mouth in shock. "Was that all?" she asked curiously, "oh God no!" Naruto answered.

"When I broke up with her after a few weeks of her antics, she tried to move on to Sasuke" Sakura's eyes widened and Sasuke looked disgusted. "Yeah, I put that slut in her place though no worries" Naruto said proudly. Sasuke rolled his eyes in response and mumbled something under his breath about how 'it was almost as embarrassing as having Karin all over him.' Sakura giggled and dropped the subject to finish her food, Itachi finished before her and went to take a shower bidding his little brother a goodnight.

Soon after Itachi retired Sasuke and Naruto took their leave, and left Sakura to clean up the mess they left on the kitchen table, after finishing she went to take a shower and go to bed herself. Before heading to her bedroom however, she stopped by Itachi's door. She knocked softly and opened it slowly after Itachi called for her to 'come in.'

"Umm… I was wondering that, if, I had another nightmare.. If I could come to you?" Itachi put down his book to look at Sakura in his doorway. He nodded that it would be okay and Sakura left with a small smile on her lips to go to her own bedroom and fall asleep.

 _'She looked so attractive like that'_ Itachi thought back on the image of Sakura in his doorway, hair damp and making her night shirt damp where it fell on her shoulders. Itachi turned the lamp by his bed off and turned over to try to sleep, images of a pink haired beauty invading his thoughts and dreams.

Sakura laid in bed with a big smile on her face, today she made two new friends and found out some interesting things about where Itachi came from. _'I can't help but feel like this is what a family is supposed to feel like'_ she thought as she turned on her radio. Turning over in her bed she stared at the picture she had on her nightstand of her and her mother before she left her with that vile man. _'I don't blame you for leaving mom, I just wish you would've taken me with you'_ she thought as she studied her mother's features. She let a small tear escape before she turned her back on the photo and let the song Lead Me Out Of The Dark by Crown the Empire lull her to sleep.


	4. Bite My Tongue

Thank you so much for the support, I do try to keep updating regularly so I will be working harder on that. Keep the reviews coming, I love to hear what you guys think.

I'm feeling a lot more confident in my writing skills and I don't think I've ever been this happy with my work before, again thank you guys and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Bite My Tongue

The next few weeks were uneventful except for the few strays that still tried to pick on Sakura, even Ino and Gaara seemed to be keeping their distance. At least for the time being, and slowly but surely Itachi was seeing progress in Sakura's training. Not only was she getting faster but she seemed to have this immense strength, both physically and mentally. Hinata even mentioned that she had never seen Sakura so confident in herself. He was feeling extremely proud of her and felt confident in her being ready for the meeting that was fast approaching, as was Kisame.

"Sakura, I'm not gonna lie to you, I really thought you were going to crash after the first week of training," Kisame said before eating the ice cream on his spoon. They were currently at the mall since it was the weekend and Itachi felt like letting Sakura buy some new toys. She currently had a shopping bag that was filled with a few new tops and two new pairs of headphones since she broke her last pair when she was cutting some paper.

"You keep telling me that Kisame, please tell me something I'm not aware of" Sakura said teasingly before flicking some of her ice cream at Itachi who dodge easily. He narrowed his eyes at her before reaching for his own spoon, "no way, Kisame look at this, I think he's actually gonna play around with us!" Sakura said mockingly.

Kisame gave a little chuckle when a spoonful of ice cream hit Sakura right smack in the face, her jaw dropped in disbelief. She was not anticipating Itachi to actually take part in their little game and paid the price for it.

"What am I always telling you Sakura, expect the unexpected" Itachi said with a teasing hint in his voice as he got up to throw away his trash and started heading towards the exit. Sakura quickly wiped her face off and rushed after Itachi, leaving behind Kisame who was just shaking his head and following behind at a slower pace.

' _She's come a long way in the little time we've known her'_ Kisame thought as he watched Sakura have a pointless argument about who should ride shotgun on the ride home. He could see her smile widen as she won the argument and climber into the passenger seat as Itachi shot him an apologetic look. "You just can't tell this girl no can you?" Kisame asked jokingly.

* * *

When they arrived back at the apartment Sakura was singing some song she heard off of this new show she found on Netflix, "this will be the day we've waited for, this will be the day we open up the door. I don't wanna hear your absolution hope your ready for a revolution!" she sang as she went to her room to drop off her new things.

"You know, we should take her to a karaoke place," Kisame said as Itachi went to sit on the couch. Itachi seemed to be thinking the idea over. "You know she would love it, you can't lie to me buddy, you want nothing more than to make her happy" Kisame stated matter of factly.

Itachi glared at him but didn't argue, "make a few phone calls and tell me when, I'll let her know so she can get ready" he finally said as he reached for the remote to turn on the television. Kisame smiled and head out into the hallway while pulling out his cell phone, tonight was going to be fun.

* * *

"I can not believe you guys are actually doing this for me!" Sakura exclaimed as she looked for an appropriate outfit. "I've never been out before, I'm so excited I could explode" she said dramatically as she fell back onto her bed. Kisame rolled his eyes at her antics but couldn't help the smile on his face. He shooked his head and looked over at Itachi in time to see a real genuine smile, not a little one he would do in public but a full blown smile. Itachi quickly schooled his face when he noticed Kisame looking and turned out of the room, "I'll be ready I promise!" Sakura called to his back as he walked away.

Sakura finally decided on a pair of blue jean skinny jeans and a nice red blouse, and just threw up her hair in a ponytail. She stared at her reflection trying to decide if she should wear makeup or not when there was a knock on her door, "come in" she called as she decided on a little bit of eyeliner.

"H-hey Sakura," Hinata said as she came in. She sat down on Sakura's bed and watched as Sakura applied her eyeliner, "Sakura, you k-know that I-ino and Gaara go to the p-place we're going to right?" She asked softly. Sakura paused momentarily before continuing to put on mascara to give her eyes a much darker look.

"Who cares? I'm more than capable of holding my own now, and I won't be alone" she said as she put her makeup away and reached for the necklace Itachi had gotten her as a gift during her third week staying with him. It was a sterling silver chain with a simple Yin & Yang symbol on it, two little diamonds served as the dots in the middle of each side. He never explained why he decided to give her this charm, just asked that she wear it whenever they met the others in the organization she would be joining soon.

Sakura grabbed her phone off the charger and her ID just in case, no need for a purse that would only weigh her down if she wanted to dance. Hinata followed her out into the living room to meet up with the others, Sakura was surprised to find Sasuke and Neji waiting as well.

"Before you get any crazy ideas, we're just here to make sure everything goes well tonight" Sasuke said. Sakura pouted a bit but brightened up when Itachi patted her head in a show of affection, it was the most he would do with such a large audience.

"I believe we're ready to go correct?" Itachi asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and they left for the karaoke place.

* * *

When they arrived, Sakura looked like a kid in a candy store. Itachi reached for her hand and linked their fingers before she could get swooped up in the crowd, Sakura blushed a bit but thought nothing of it. Behind them Sasuke and Kisame shared knowing looks and followed behind at a distance, looking over everyone to see if they knew any one there.

Sasuke saw Gaara sitting at a table with Ino draped over him not to far from the stage, he nudged Itachi and motioned in their direction. Itachi nodded and headed to the opposite side, there would be no avoiding it when Sakura went up on stage but if he could delay the inevitable he would. Selecting a table on the other side of the stage they all sat down and Kisame and Itachi went to get drinks for them.

"Have you thought about what you want to sing Sakura? I don't think they usually play any of your usual genres here," Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh no worries, I listen to a variety of things, I was thinking of something like Demi Lovato or maybe Pink" Sakura replied. Naruto nodded at her choices and turned to look to see who the next singer would be, he groaned when he saw who it was. Everyone at the table kind of tensed up as Ino walked up on to the stage, she seemed to be attempting a seductive walk and almost tripped up on the stage.

"Hello everyone, my name is Ino and I am dedicating this song to my boyfriend Gaara" she said into the mike, she pointed out Gaara as the song she chose started to play.

Ciara's song Promise started playing and Ino sang the opening:

"Come enjoy the life, baby take a ride. I just wanna vibe with you, you baby you and I can have a good time, tell me what you like."

Surprisingly she wasn't bad, not great but she could sing the song well enough. What put them off the most about her performance was the way she was moving to the song. Sakura flinched at the blatant sexual moves she was making in Gaara's direction, her heart clenched a bit at the lust filled gaze she saw Gaara giving Ino.

She felt suddenly sick, she was about to get up until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Sakura grabbed it in support knowing it was Itachi who was the one comforting her without having to look. The song came to a close and there was a healthy amount of applause from the crowd, the DJ came over the speakers. "Who ever would like to follow Ino's amazing performance, please come on up and let me know. Don't be shy folks, you're here for a reason."

Sakura could feel her friends giving her worried looks as she rose from her seat, "I know what song I want to do" she stated. Itachi gave her one more reassuring squeeze and dropped his hand from her shoulder as she made her way to the DJ.

Gaara watched as Ino sang to him specifically, he couldn't help the lust he felt for her at that moment. She was moving intentionally, trying to get him aroused, and he remembered why he left Sakura. She was too shy, would never venture into anything that would lead to sex, it was infuriating. Ino was so willing, he was able to get her into his bed on the first attempt.

Ino finished her song and walked off the stage and back to him, giving him a seductive kiss. He bit back a growl and rested his hands on her hips.

The only thing he didn't tell Sakura was that he had cheated on her multiple times before finally breaking up with her. It was something he felt guilty about a lot but not right now, right now he had this girl in his arms and he was planning on enjoying this night, to bad nothing goes as planned...

Sakura walked up on stage and noticed that Ino and Gaara were lip locked, turning to meet Itachi's gaze he let out a small smile and she felt the confidence fill her once again.

"Ladies and Gentleman, we have a first timer here," the DJ started, "this lovely girls name is Sakura and she would like to sing a song for her recent ex boyfriend!" The crowd cheered and Sakura bit her bottom lip in a playful manner. She saw when Gaara and Ino pulled apart and shock and stared at her open mouthed when the song started to play. Avril Lavigne's song I Can Do Better flooded the club:

"Uh, yeah... you can do it" Sakura laughed into the mic, "I didn't give a damn what you say to me, I don't really care what you think of me, 'cause either way you're gonna think what you believe. There's nothing you could say that would hurt me" She made eye contact with Gaara for the next part.

"I'm better off without you anyway, I thought it would be hard but I'm OK. I don't need you if you're gonna be that way because with me, it's all or nothing!"

"I'm sick of this shit, don't deny, you're a waste of time. I'm sick of this shit, don't ask why…" she turned away and started bouncing to the beat. "I hate you now, so go away from me! You're gone, so long, I can do better, I can do better!" she stopped to point at Gaara. "Hey, hey you, I found myself again. That's why you're gone I can do better, I can do better" she looked over at Itachi without really meaning to but went with it when she noticed Gaara's hand start to clench.

She saw Itachi smirk a bit as Gaara glared at him from across the club, Ino was seething in her seat next to Gaara and glaring daggers at Sakura who was up on stage.

"What'd you say? I told you so. You know that, 'cause I always know.

Get outta my face, hey hey, you're not my taste, hey hey. I am so sick of you" Sakura pointed at Ino for this part of the song, "You're on my nerves, I want to puke. Get outta my face, hey hey, you're not my taste.

Hey hey.

Hey hey.

Hey hey!" Sakura now had the whole club dancing and hopping along with her. Her energy getting everyone moving with her as the song started to come to a close.

Ino was already moving towards the DJ by the time Sakura made it off stage and to her group of friends.

Naruto was laughing and clapped Sakura on the shoulder, everyone else congratulate her on a great performance and Itachi got up to offer his seat to her since Kisame took hers when he came back from getting drinks.

The club was now in full swing and a few others had gone on to sing after Ino and Sakura's performances. Ino had gone up a few more times trying to get Sakura riled up, failing each time. Gaara was constantly looking over at their table to try to get a glimpse of Sakura through the crowd, which was just making Ino madder. Sakura had jumped up to dance when a song came over the speakers and dragged nearest person to her to dance floor. The nearest person happened to be Naruto and he couldn't figure out how to dance to the techno beat that had come on, he was also beat red at the way Sakura was trying to dance on him.

Back at the table Kisame was busting a gut laughing and Sasuke was struggling to hold in his laughter, Itachi was watching intently as Sakura moved sensually to the beat. Naruto snuck away quickly and went back to the table leaving Sakura alone on the dance floor.

Sakura danced alone for a bit, running her hands down her sides, she started to gain a bit of attention. Eyes closed, she didn't freak out when she felt someone's hands over her own moving to the beat. The song continued and she found herself pretending it was Itachi who was moving with her, her eyes shot open when she felt the person's hands start to travel further down.

Sakura pulled away and turned to look at who dared to try and touch her like that when all she wanted was a dance. She took a few involuntary steps back when she saw who it was, his unmistakable red hair lighting up with the lights. Sakura turned to run back to the table and felt herself get yanked back by her hand. She turned and slapped him, _**hard,**_ leaving him stunned. A few dancers around them stopped to watch to see what would happen, Gaara's face started to turn red in both anger and embarrassment.

"What the fuck Sakura!" Gaara yelled over the music. He took two menacing steps toward her but stopped when he noticed Itachi was now standing beside her.

Sakura relaxed a bit and subconsciously moved closer to him, needing his support more than anything at the moment. Itachi's eyes were narrowed dangerously at the redhead in front of him, Gaara returned his glare and took a step forward. Sakura feared that they might have started right then and there, luckily Kisame chose to walk up at that moment and whisper something in Itachi's ear.

Itachi gave a barely visible nod and turned around, grabbing Sakura's hand, and leading her to the exit. When they walked out Sakura saw all of their friends waiting patiently for them, "sorry we're leaving early Sakura, Hinata is tired and Naruto drank Kisame's drink instead of his own… He's drunk." Neji stated rather bluntly. Sakura just nodded and continued to follow along behind Itachi, not noticing how dark his aura had gotten, or how her friends seemed to be giving him a wide berth.

* * *

Itachi and Sakura returned to their apartment and Itachi went directly to his room without saying a word to Sakura.

Sakura couldn't help but think about how disappointed Itachi must be with her, first to dance with Gaara in such a way, even if it wasn't intentional, and then how she let him get the better of her. This is what her training was for, how could she forget it all just because of Gaara? Feeling ashamed of herself she made her way to her room and closed the door.

She could faintly hear music coming from Itachi's room but couldn't make out the song, sighing, she started to change into her pajamas and got into bed. Sakura turned on her radio and couldn't help the few tears that leaked out. _'I want to hate Gaara, I really do, but… I still love him. I miss my best friend. How could he do this to me? How can I keep having these feelings for someone who threw me aside so easily?'_ Sakura couldn't stop the tears anymore. She was growing angrier with herself as the time past and found herself relating more and more to the song that was playing, Bite My Tongue by You Me At Six, _'I_ _ **will**_ _get stronger, and I will be someone Itachi can be proud of'_ Sakura vowed as she calmed down. Sadness was being replaced with determination, she would train harder and work on both her physical and mental strength. She set her alarm for an earlier time than usual and turned over to go to sleep, _'I_ _ **will**_ _do this.'_

* * *

So I tried to stay away from just putting the lyrics in like other people do, I hope I did okay with this. Let me know what you guys think!

-JulietZombie


	5. It's Over When It's Over

It's Over When It's Over

Itachi woke up the following morning to an empty apartment, not realizing he was the only one there he went to check on Sakura. She didn't say a word to him last night and he felt that he left off on a bad note. When Itachi opened the door to Sakura's room he found it empty, _'hmm, maybe she's in shower'_ he went through the apartment looking for Sakura and even called her cell a few times to see if he could hear it. Slightly worried when he couldn't hear the phone and she didn't answer on any of his attempts he decided to call Kisame.

"Hello?" Kisame answered.

"Kisame, Sakura isn't in the apartment, have you heard anything from her" Itachi asked as calmly as possible, his unease building up.

"Oh shit, I thought she told you" Itachi listened intently, the sounds of cheers and yelling in the background making it hard to hear Kisame. "She's here at the gym already, she called me early this morning asking if I could go get her so she could get an early start on training today" Kisame said.

"I'm on my way," Itachi quickly hung up and jumped in the shower. _'Why wouldn't she let me know she wanted to get an early start'_ he thought as he went through his usual morning routine. After putting his hair in its usual ponytail, Itachi grabbed the keys to his bike and headed out to the garage. Not even bothering with his helmet he took off to the gym that he and Kisame frequented. _'Does she not want me to help train her anymore?'_ that thought bothered him a lot more than he expected, she was free to do whatever she pleased but Itachi was hoping she would be pleased doing things with him.

* * *

A few minutes later Itachi was walking into the gym and noticed a huge crowd gathered around the boxing ring in the center of the gym. Itachi spotted Kisame standing more towards the back and headed in his direction, Kisame noticed Itachi approach and motioned towards the ring.

"Dude, Sakura is on a role, no one has been able to take her down since she's gotten in," Kisame said as soon as Itachi was in hearing range. Itachi turned towards the ring and watched as Sakura faced her new opponent, a 6 foot man whose muscles could easily be bigger than her head.

"How long has this been going on?" Itachi asked, "Since 10 this morning, she went through our usual workouts and then a guy started talking shit to her. Before I could even do anything, Sakura was punching his lights out and then his buddies challenged her" Kisame man standing across from Sakura smirked, "your reign is over pinky, I'm going to avenge my friends" he said as he popped his knuckles. Sakura smiled a bright smile and sang in the cheeriest voice she could manage, "I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!" The guy glared at her and swung out without warning, Sakura bent backwards and kicked him in his chin while doing a backflip.

Sakura had a dangerous look in her eyes when she landed, "off with his head!" the crowd called out and Sakura ran at him. From there on they would exchange blows and block, neither one of them letting up and the guy was didn't look to be going easy on Sakura. The guy's friends were cheering frome the sidelines with varrying degrees of injuries. Some had broken noses and black eyes, while others had missing teeth and multiple bleeding cuts. The only thing they all shared in common was how they got those injuries.

Itachi was tense the whole match, _'I can't continue to let this man hit my woman'_ he thought as he started to make his way towards the ring. Kisame watched as his friend/partner pushed his way through the crowd trying to make it to the ring.

 _'It's only a matter of time now before Itachi claims pinky as his,'_ Kisame thought in amusment, eyes narrowing he saw an unwelcome visitor watching from the shadows. _'Well, well, if it isn't the chairmans son...'_

* * *

The man, who he learned was named Tiny, looked to be slowing down and dragging a bit when compared to Sakura's energized jumping. Kisame watched in silent awe as Sakura saw an opportunity to swipe Tiny's legs from underneath him and took it. Tiny hit the mat hard and didn't look to be getting back up, not even a few moments after Sakura stumbled a bit and fell with him, neither of them moved from there positions on the floor.

The crowd was grew silent, making the situation seem worse then it actually was. The moment seemed to drag on and Itachi was already halfway to the ring when the crowd suddenly erupted back into cheers. Looking up he saw Sakura getting up from her knees, a determined look on her face as she stood over Tiny.

Everyone looked on as Sakura extended her hand to the giant man on the mat helping him up. Tiny smiled down at the girl who had just beat him silly and surprised everyone when he lifted her arm up to show she was the winner. "If anyone else has a problem with Her Highness, they can take it up with me," Tiny yelled with a booming voice that didn't match his name at all.

The look of genuine happiness on Sakura's face was enough to steal Itachi's breath. How he could ever be upset with her was beyond him, he made it to the edge of the ring and started to climb up. Sakura spotted him and patted Tiny's hands so he could let her go, once free she bounced over to where Itachi was.

Sakura looked up at him, and bit her bottom lip as she waited to hear what Itachi would say. Instead of saying anything, Itachi simply patted Sakura's head to show he was proud of her and, Kisame joined them shortly after and picked up Sakura on his shoulders.

"Itachi, I think she's ready" he said as Sakura laughed from on top of his shoulders, her laughter making her seem like a little kid who didn't just get out of a match with a giant man that looked like he could eat her.

Itachi nodded in agreement and helped Kisame carry Sakura over the ropes and down the side. They walked out of the gym and into the parking lot, where Kisame placed Sakura back on the ground and watched in amusement as she immediately ran towards Itachi's bike.

"Hey wait!" they all turned towards the voice, a girl was running out of the gym. She stopped a few feet away from them and bent over to catch her breath, "thanks, I wanted to talk to Her Highness real quick," Sakura smiled at the new nickname and made her way back to where the brunette stood.

"How can I help you?" the girl smiled up at Sakura and extended her hand, "my names Tenten, I just really wanted to congratulate you and ask if you would like to train together sometime?"

Itachi and Kisame just watched on as 'Her Highness', Sakura, brightened up and eagerly accepted the invitation. The two girls exchanged numbers with a promise to get in touch and plan a day to train as both Itachi and Kisame went to their own vehicles. Finishing up, Sakura ran back over to Itachi's bike and jumped on with no hesitation. She wrapped her arms around his waist, not feeling the usual shyness or unease like she usually would and leaned her cheek against his back, feeling a confidence she had never felt before.

Ever since her training started she was feeling more and more confident in herself, no longer afraid of doing things that she wouldn't normally do.

Itachi felt himself relax and scoffed at himself for all of his earlier worrying, they pulled out of the gyms parking lot to head to the apartment, neither one of them noticing the presence outside of the gym that was watching them the whole time.

* * *

 _'I came to get my frustrations out about Sakura, **not** to see her!' _Gaara thought as he glared where both Itachi and Sakura stood in the ring. He had watched just that one match with Tiny but it was enough, _'I better tell Ino she can't mess with her anymore'_ he pulled out his phone to shoot Ino a text but stopped.

What would be the point, might as well just let the pieces fall where they may, _'I have to figure out how to get her away from him'_ Gaara followed the group out into the parking lot in time to see Sakura talking to a girl who hung out at the gym alot. _'Great, now it's going to be even harder'_ Gaara thought as Sakura and the girl exchanged numbers. Gaara continued to watch as the third wheeler started to walk away, _'That is the guy who meets with my father, he's here to make negotiations.'_ Gaara's eyes widened in realization, these guys weren't civilians like he originally thought. They were part of the organization that was trying to move in to the city, the orginization that his father feared.

 _'How the hell did Sakura get mixed up with them?'_ Gaara pulled out his phone and dialed his father, "hey boss, I have some leverage on those asshole who are trying to move into our city..."

* * *

Itachi and Kisame were in the living room waiting for Sakura to get out of the shower when some of the other members showed up in their signature way. Two guys busted in through to door and engaged both Kisame and Itachi, making them go on the defensive so they couldn't fight back.

Sakura was in the shower singing along to her phone when she heard it, a loud bang sounded out throughout the apartment and she was out of the shower, wrapped in a towel, and in living room in less than a minute. She ran in on Itachi fighting a man with long blonde hair that was being held up in a pony tail and Kisame fighting a man with red hair, both were just blocking and dodging blows. Without a second thought Sakura was throwing a fist at the blonde who was currently attacking Itachi, he turned around in time to get punched in the face so hard that it knocked him out of the open door, into the hallway, and into a wall where he finally slid down into sitting position.

Itachi's eyes widened at the sight of her, Kisame and his opponent stopped fighting to look at her as well. Sakura was panting lightly and looked at three remaining guys in the room, "what?" Kisame quickly turned away, red faced, and Itachi quickly hit the redhead over the head making him turn away too.

"Sakura I think you might want to get dressed" Itachi said as a nice blush stained his cheeks, he turned away from her as well. Sakura was a bit confused until she felt the unnatural breeze flow over her chest and stomach, looking down she saw her towel around her feet. Sakura let out a squeak and ran to her room pulling her towel back up around her as she did so, Kisame chuckled a bit back in the living room and helped the redhead up while Itachi fetched the blonde from the hallway where he still sat dazed.

A few moments later Sakura returned fully clothed and red in the face, both from embarrassment and angry at the intruders. She saw all four guys sitting around the kitchen table and seethed, _'how can they all be just sitting around like nothing happened.'_ She narrowed her eyes at Kisame who gave out a nervous laugh.

"Hey Sakura, so uh, these are our friends we were telling you about" Kisame started. Sakura's right eye twitched and Kisame looked to Itachi for help.

"Don't look at me, I told you to wait to call them until after she was rested," Itachi said before taking a sip of his tea. Kisame looked back at Sakura wide eyed and tried to come up with something, anything, that would get him out of trouble.

"Who the hell drop bys and starts a fight right off the bat! What the hell is up with that?!" Sakura yelled at the two strangers currently sitting at her kitchen table.

"Hey, what the hell does it matter anyway huh, not like you should even be here" the blonde said from beside Kisame. Sakura looked at the guy in disbelieving anger as the guy just raised an eyebrow at her, "What pinky, don't you have to leave or something? Go back home or something and bare yourself to whoever's there." Sakura clenched her teeth as Itachi, who was now standing behind the bloned, shot her a look that that said 'I'll take care of this'.

"Deidara, did you not read the report I sent in" Itachi asked in a calm voice. The blonde, Deidara, turned around in his seat to face Itachi.

"You know I never read that crap, not my job to" he replied, Itachi reached down and Deidara's eyes widened when he felt himself being lifted from the chair by the collar of his shirt.

"If you would have read that 'crap' you would know she is the newest member and part of my team, Sakura is to be respected and you should watch yourself around her" Itachi said still holding him up.

"Yeah, not to mention she can take down guys three times her size dude, she is a force to be reckoned with" Kisame added, throwing a wink in Sakura's direction.

"Pfft, I'll show her respect when she earns it, right Sasori?" the redhead looked at Deidara, who was still in Itachi's grasp, and then to Sakura. "I already respect her, the punch she landed on you had you dazed on the floor, you even said something about how pretty you felt as a woman" he replied and went back to sipping his tea and reading something on his phone. Deidara's jaw dropped and he started to turn a bit red, "that was a lucky shot and she won't be able to do it again!" Kisame started to laugh and Itachi raised him a bit higher off the ground.

"Wanna bet blondie, I don't mind defending my title against you" Sakura said with a scary grin on her face. Kisame started to laugh harder and they could barely make out what he was saying from his doubled over position, "what does 'off with his head mean'?" Sasori questioned now intrigued.

Itachi decided at this moment to drop Deidara back down and started to walk out of the kitchen and past Sakura. Before he completely passed her, he patted her head for the second time that day and then continued on. Sakura got a bright smile on her face and turned around to skip after Itachi, leaving a confused Deidara and Sasori in the kitchen with Kisame. Kisame sighed in his seat and turned to the two oblivious guys sitting at the table, "guess that means I have to tell you about her then."

* * *

Deidara was speechless for once and Sasori, well Sasori was just the same he always is, except this time his face showed shock. "She went through all that and is ready to join so quickly? I know I can't lie to you guys, that punch hurt like a bitch. I totally thought Itachi got me somehow…" Deidara said a little embarrassed.

"I wonder how she would do with throwing knives, do you think she would be open to the idea of learning?" Sasori asked thoughtfully. Kisame's eyes widened, Sasori never offered to train anyone in anything. Especially not in his specialty, "I guess I'll have to ask and see then I'll have someone to practice with, hopefully I'll be able to teach her how to use the cables as well." Sasori thought out loud as he got up from the table and started to walk to the living room.

"You never offered to teach me your technique!" Deidara yelled as he followed Sasoir into the living room. Kisame laughed from his seat at the table and got up to join the two in the living room, "what are we even eating for dinner?..."

* * *

A few hours later they all were sitting around a table at a restaurant that was around the corner from Itachi's and Sakura's apartment. After filling in the two new additions to the group about Sakura and how she came to be with the two partners, they all decided to grab a bite to eat.

"Sakura, I want to apologize about earlier" Deidara said, "I assumed you were someone that Kisame had brought back from who knows where, to hit and quit." Sakura turned a bit red at his words but nodded in acceptance. "I'm sorry you went through what you went through, I'm glad you're on our side if what I hear about your fighting skills is true" Deidara continued to speak. Sakura smiled warmly at him and continued to pick at the fries on her plate.

"Sakura, you need to eat, if you think I haven't noticed you skipping meals and barely eating the ones you do eat then you are not as smart as I thought" Itachi said calmly as he continued to cut into his steak. Sakura turned an interesting shade of red and started to really eat the burger she had ordered.

Kisame shook his head in worry and continued to eat the shrimp he had ordered, Deidara and Sasori were watching Itachi with interest. Itachi was caring for this little pink haired girl more then anyone else they had ever seen him interact with. Deidara narrowed his eyes in Itachi's direction, "are you sleeping with Sakura?" both Sakura and Kisame started choking on their food and Itachi merely raised an eyebrow at the blonde in front of him.

"No, Sakura and I are not romantically involved" Itachi responded calmly, Sakura excused herself from the table and went to the restroom. "If we were, I still wouldn't tell you, that would be our business and not yours" Itachi finished as soon as Sakura was out of hearing range.

"Why do you ask, are you interested in our little cherry blossom?" Kisame asked suggestively. Itachi tensed up a bit in his seat and narrowed his eyes at him, Sasori looked towards his partner for an answer as well.

"That's not what I was saying man, sure she's cute but nothing to brag about I need more curves on my women and Sakura just can't cut it," Deidara said. Sakura sat back down in her seat silently, Deidara's eyes widened as he realized she was there. He watched her as she continued to eat her food in silence, if she heard his rude remark she didn't let on.

Itachi got up from his seat and went over to where Sakura was seated, "come Sakura, we have school in the morning and you've had a long day." Sakura got up, still silent, and followed Itachi out of the restaurant.

* * *

The car ride home was silent, Sakura couldn't get what Sasori said out of her head _'it shouldn't matter, he doesn't matter to me.'_ She kept telling herself that over and over again but then another thought popped into her head, _'what if Itachi feels the same way...'_

When they got back to their apartment, Sakura rushed to her room without saying a word, too troubled by her thoughts to even change out of her clothes and jumped on to her bed. _'I've always known I wasn't attractive but to put it in such a mean way…'_ Sakura let a tear slip through and turned her face into one of her pillows. _'This is so stupid, I really shouldn't even care what that asshole thinks of me… But… What if Itachi...'_ Sakura's thoughts continued, she already knew that there wasn't even a small chance that Itachi would even like her.

A knock at her door interrupted any further thoughts, "come in" Sakura called out. Itachi came in quietly and walked over to sit next to where Sakura was laying on her bed.

"I came to check on you, I'm aware that you heard what Deidara said and wanted to make sure that you didn't take any of it to heart" Sakura gave Itachi a small smile and just shook her head yes. "Good, because the opinion of one shouldn't matter, especially when it's not nearly the same as others" Itachi moved some hair out of Sakura's face, "don't let him darken your view of yourself." Sakura's eyes widened a bit as Itachi bent down to kiss her softly on her forehead and then walked out of her room and shut her door behind him.

Sakura sat up a bit longer, a stupid smile on her face. _'I'll make him proud and show all of those assholes that being pretty isn't everything,'_ she thought as she got up to change into her pajamas. Sakura stopped to look at herself in the vanity's mirror, _'I've actually toned up a lot, now if only these would grow a bit...'_ she thought as she glared at her chest. Shaking her head at herself, she threw on a night shirt and crawled into bed. School was tomorrow and she wasn't going to continue to be the quiet meek little girl everyone knew, no, she would show them all.

Sakura fell asleep to the song It's Over When It's Over by Falling in Reverse, the lyrics fueling her determination to be stronger the next day. _'I'll show everyone...'_

* * *

You know, it never even occured to me that not everyone likes the songs that I'm using. If you happen to hear a song and feel I could use it don't be afraid to send it my way. -JulietZombie


	6. Maniacal Me

Maniacal Me

The next morning Sakura woke up feeling like she was going to war, determination was fueling her today. She refused to continue hiding behind Itachi for the rest of the school year, especially now when she knew she could take half the school easily. Taking special care in picking her outfit, she finally decided on a pair of high waisted black shorts and one of her favorite band tanks that said Letlive and had the noose head on it.

Before putting on her chosen outfit, she looked over her reflection in the vanity's mirror. All her scars had faded, her ribs no longer showed and she was toned. For the first time in her life she was actually happy with the way she looked, smiling brightly at herself she quickly threw on her clothing and sat down to do her makeup. Today was the day everyone would know she was no longer the girl you could pick on easily, today she was a warrior. Sakura lined her eyes with black eyeliner and put on some black eyeshadow, making her emerald eyes look majestic. Applying a quick layer of mascara, Sakura finished up and got her bag together. Stopping to put on the SWAT boots that Itachi had got for her, she also grabbed her Ipod and left her room to join Itachi in the living room.

Itachi was standing in the living room with Naruto and Sasuke when Sakura walked up, Sasuke eyed her up and down but said nothing and Naruto whistled in approval. "Shut up idiot, your boyfriend is standing right there" Sakura said.

"Hey, I'm sure he agrees with me when I say you look hot as hell" Naruto replied while nudging Sasuke, Sasuke blushed a bit but said nothing still. Itachi shot Naruto a look that had him shutting up and rushing out the door with Sasuke following closely behind him.

"You look very nice Sakura, are you ready to go?" Itachi asked casually, Sakura blushed a pretty pink and exited the apartment leaving Itachi to lock the door behind them. When they reached the car Sakura paused before getting in, Itachi watched her closely, _'good, she noticed his presence, she has passed my expectations.'_ Itachi thought before getting into the drivers seat.

* * *

Across the street from the parking lot sat Gaara and Ino, "why are you so interested in forehead and her new boy toy anyway?" Ino questioned from the passenger seat.

Gaara sighed, lately Ino had been really annoying, before she wasn't this bad and now it was like he couldn't see why he was dating her to begin with.. The sex wasn't even that great. "Ino I told you, I've seen that guys friend in meetings with my father, if that's the case then they're all part of the organization that's trying to make a deal." Ino sighed and went back to filing her nails, "I still don't understand what the big deal is" Gaara glared at her, "if I can get information for my father then we can get the upperhand."

Gaara followed them out into the street and towards the school, _'if Sakura is joining them, then I can use whatever information I have on her.'_

* * *

"So how long has he been following us around and how come you never told me," Sakura asked breaking the silence in the car. Itachi sighed and remained quiet, "were you ever going to tell me he was watching us?" Sakura questioned, her tone of voice changing to a softer octave.

Without realizing what he was doing, Itachi reached over and took her hand "Sakura I had every intention of telling you when the time required you to be told, Gaara was never an immediate threat." He squeezed her hand lightly and Sakura gave him a small smile before turning to glare at Sasuke and Naruto.

"Did you two know as well…" Naruto took an audible gulp and Sasuke was looking everywhere but her. "Great, so everyone knew but me, way to keep my out of the loop guys" Sakura exclaimed and turned on the radio. Naruto opened his mouth to apologize but Sasuke stopped him, he nodded his head in understanding and let her cool off the remaining drive to the school.

They pulled up to the school and Sakura went into the school first leaving the guys behind, Itachi followed behind silently while Sasuke and Naruto hung back to meet up with friends.

* * *

"Sakura wait up, I was waiting to tell you because I didn't want to concern you" Itachi called after Sakura in the semi empty hallways. Sakura stopped at her locker and looked back at him, "you can't be keeping these kinds of things from me, I have a right to know when my ex is turning pyscho stalker on us" she said as she tried to open her locker.

Finally getting the combination right, she threw it open just to have frogs fall out on her. Sakura stood still, Itachi could see her practicing her breathing exercises they had taught her, Ino came out from around the corner with her lackies and headed in her direction with a smug look on her face. Apparently her two lackies made it to school before Ino and set up the prank... Again.

Itachi narrowed his eye at the group but didn't move to intercept them, they would have to learn themselves that Sakura was a new force to mess with.

"Hey forehead, did you like my presents? I picked them out especially for you… Come on Sakura, turn around so we can see your pathetic teary face" Ino said, she reached for Sakura's shoulder. Sakura grabbed Ino's hand as soon as it made contact with her shoulder and shoved her into the locker next to her, Ino's eyes widened as the air left her lungs. Sakura released her hand and let Ino fall to the ground gasping for air, her two lackies lunged at Sakura and were also shoved roughly into lockers.

"I am not in the mood today ladies, oh and Ino? Keep your boyfriend on a leash we wouldn't want him being put down now would we?" Sakura said as she stepped over the three girls on the floor and took off to her first period.

* * *

By lunch time news had spread fast about how Sakura had thrown three girls around like rag dolls, of course a lot of stories were over exaggerated.

"I heard she threw two of them 20 feet down the hallway!"

"Oh yea? Well I heard she held them above her head and slammed them into a locker."

Each table had a different story, regardless how far fetched some of the stories were, they were getting the points across. The only one not afraid of her it seemed, was her ex Gaara, who was walking up to the table Sakura and her group of friends were currently occupying.

"Sakura, I need to speak with you about something" Gaara said upon arriving, Sakura raised an eyebrow in question. Itachi and Sasuke both narrowed their eyes in Gaara's direction and Naruto shook his head 'no' in Sakura's direction.

Sakura gave Gaara smile and started standing up, "I'm sure you would Gaara, but at this point in time I can't fathom what we would need to talk about?" She said the smile never leaving her face. Sakura walked to stand behind Itachi's chair, "I'm sure you can say whatever it is you need to say in front of my friends right?" Leaning on Itachi's shoulders, Sakura started to play with his hair absentmindedly.

Sakura's smile widened when she got the reaction she wanted, the anger in Gaara's eyes made his sea foam green eyes darken dangerously.

A quick scan of the cafeteria showed that everyone's attention was all on Gaara, he clenched his fist but didn't leave. "Sakura, I really need to speak to you about something personal, it's about us" he said.

Sakura tilted her head in mock confusion, "Us? What us? I don't remember there ever being an us Gaara, unless you're talking about how we used to have a thing and then you dumped me for a piece of ass…" she said with her finger on her chin as if she was thinking.

"Sakura, I'm serious" Gaara tried to say.

"As am I, you should just walk away and forget there was ever an 'us' just like I did," Sakura interrupted him. She stood up straighter behind Itachi and had her hand resting on his shoulder. Itachi didn't seem to look like he was ready to stop their conversation and threw Gaara a small smirk, knowing it would piss off the red head, especially with the way Sakura was acting right now.

"So what, a new guy comes into town and you forget all about what we used to do? All the times we would talk about our lives and how we would leave one day?" Gaara started to raise his voice. "He's gonna leave you once he figures out that you don't put out Sakura, just watch."

At that Itachi finally stood up to interupt, "unlike you, little boy, I don't go after a piece of 'ass' no matter how tempting or delicious it may look" Sakura blushed. "Even so, I wouldn't of left her for a blonde bimbo who can't tell her left from her right just to get it, that is low and disgusting" Itachi continued to say. "Besides, who said she hasn't 'put out' as you've put it" Gaara's eyes widened and he looked over at Sakura for confirmation.

Sakura gave Gaara a wicked grin that had the color draining from his face, "sorry, not sorry babe, he even says I'm _**great**_ in bed" she winked at him and started to walk out of the cafeteria with her friends in tow while holding Itachi's hand. The group following them were trying to hold back varying degrees of laughter, the cafeteria that was silent moments before, broke out into chatter about what just transpired and gossip was spreading about the newly made couple.

* * *

Sakura and Itachi were spending their free period in the library again, Sakura of course was jamming to her Ipod and Itachi was reading over an assignment that was due at the end of the day. "Riddle me this, I gotta figure it out…" Sakura was singing when the fire alarm started going off, Itachi stood up and started gathering both of their things. Sakura pulled on of the earbuds out and rose to follow Itachi.

Before they could exit the library a group of kids, led by Kiba, walked in blocking their path. "Oh, were you guys leaving?" Kiba asked innocently as he dropped his bag down, "sorry but I don't think we can allow that, you see… I owe you for the other day you weasel." Itachi stood in front of Sakura protectively, Sakura pulled on some fingerless black leather gloves while she was out of view.

"Leave us alone now and I give you my word that no harm will come to you," Itachi said calmly as Sakura stepped out from behind him. She popped her neck and then popped her fingers in front of her, Kiba glared at Itachi and took a step forward. "I would really take him up on his offer guys, this is the only act of kindness he's going to show you" Sakura said.

"Shut it pinky, I'll get back to you once I'm done with your boyfriend here, then I can show you what I wanted to show you the other day" Kiba said with a suggestive tone that had Sakura cringing in distasted. "Don't give me that look, you know you wa-" Itachi punched him in the face effectively silencing him.

"He warned you boys!" Sakura yelled as she jumped up onto one of the tables to side kick one of the guys in the head, making him fall to the floor unconscious. Sakura watched Itachi fight Kiba for a bit before running at one of the guys who was trying to get at Itachi from behind. "Yee Haw!" Sakura yelled as she jumped onto the guys back, he whirled around in an attempt to knock her off, Sakura flew backwards and fell into a table.

Before she could react, the guy was on top of her and holding her arms at her sides. "Now what you gonna do bitch?" the guy spat in her face. Sakura got a crazy look in her eye and whispered something below her breath, "what? Speak up."

"Off. With. His. Head!" Sakura head butted the guy so hard that he fell backwards, he fell to the ground and didn't look to be getting up. Looking over to see how Itachi was faring, she narrowed her eyes as she noticed it was a three on one match at this point. Itachi was just dodging and scooting back further and further, towards the door.

When he reached the door on the other side of the room, he grabbed Kiba's arm and used the momentum from a punch he was throwing to throw him through the door and out into the hallway. Dodging two kicks, he caught the remaining two guys legs and pulled them out into the hallway where they fell over Kbia.

Sakura stood at the door with their things and gave out a whistle, "damn we did good" handing Itachi his bag she grabbed his other hand and started to skip to the nearest exit.

* * *

When they reached the Football field where all the other students were gathered during the fired drill, they were instantly surrounded by their friends.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Naruto yelled as he dragged Sasuke behind him to stand in front of Itachi.

"Sorry guys, ran into some trouble but we came as quickly as we could" Sakura said brightly.

Itachi looked down at Sakura with a raised eyebrow but said nothing. "Oh Johnny, wake the fuck up…" Sakura started to sing along with her Ipod again. Taking a deep breath, Itachi followed Sakura around the football field as she danced around to make sure no more 'trouble' came her way. Naruto watched open mouthed, Sasuke reached over and pushed on his chin.

"You're going to catch flies if you keep gawking at them like that" Sasuke said in amusement.

"How can he put up with her?" Naruto questioned as he watched Sakura spin a little too fast on the turf and fall down.

"I think he finally found his missing piece, his opposite, if you will" Sasuke answered as he watched Itachi walk over to a teary eyed Sakura who was still sitting where she fell. His eyes softened as he watched Itachi pat Sakura lightly on the head in affection and then pick her up like a little kid, reaching over for Naruto's hand he gently laced their fingers together.

"When are you going to tell him that your mom called?" the atmosphere got serious again at the question Naruto asked, Sasuke looked down at his feet in thought.

"I'm going to tell them both tonight, it looks like they will be getting serious soon and even though what they said at lunch today isn't true, many people will believe it is" Sasuke paused, "especially the unwelcome visitor on her way here, I have no doubt in my mind that Sakura will be pissed when she shows up."

"Hell, Itachi is going to be pissed she's coming down," Naruto said in amusement. Sasuke simply nodded his head in agreement and turned away from Itachi helping Sakura to her feet and then onto his back to give her a piggyback ride into the school with the rest of the student body. "Well, you're doing it, he's your brother and I've already dealt with her once, I refuse to be in the same room as her" Sasuke glared at the back of Naruto's head.

"Whatever, I'll be the one to break the news that Itachi's ex girlfriend is coming, but you're gonna be the one to carry me out in a body bag" Sasuke said.

* * *

That night over dinner, Sasuke was trying to find the right time to tell Itachi and Sakura the news their mother had shared with him. "So Sasuke has something to tell you," Naruto said out of nowhere, cutting Sakura off.

Sasuke spit the food he had in his mouth out and stared at Naruto wide eyed, "uh, I uh..." Itachi narrowed his eyes at Sasuke and Sakura just tilted her head in curiosity. "Mom called earlier… And said that we were going to have a visitor.." Sasuke trailed off.

"Oh so more family is coming?" Sakura asked innocently. "Not exactly" Sasuke replied, Naruto hid his grin behind his hand and kept eating the food Sakura had prepared.

"Sasuke, it would probably be best if you just say what you are trying to say" Itachi finally cut in, he didn't like where this was going.

"Karin is coming down for a visit, mom told her where we were…" Sasuke said quickly. Itachi clenched his fist and Sakura narrowed her eyes in Sasuke's direction.

"Karin as in, psycho ex girlfriend?" Sakura asked, Sasuke just nodded and kept his head down. "Well… What's the plan then huh? I don't want her coming into my home thinking she can run the joint and what the hell are we going to do about her being all over Itachi?" Sakura's voice was laced with irritation.

"Oh I know!" Naruto said excitedly, "Sakura can pretend to be Itachi's girlfriend!" Sakura stared wide eyed at Naruto and flushed a deep red. Itachi simply took a sip of his tea and seemed to be thinking over the idea.

"It's not a bad plan, she'll be put off but still try and I'm sure Sakura will have no problem putting her down" Sasuke backed Naruto up. Two birds with one stone, he could practically hear the wheels turning in his blonde boyfriends head. It was obvious that the two people in front of him had feelings for eachother, Sakura was shy about it and Itachi would simply wait until it was too late.

Sakura couldn't form any words, Itachi knew what his brother was doing. _'Very well done brother, but I believe I can take care of my own affairs'_ Itachi thought. "If that's the plan then Sakura, you will have to move your thing into my room, I'm sure you'll find that there is plenty of room" Sasuke's and Naruto's mouths dropped along with Sakura's. No one moved or said a thing, "knowing Karin the way we do, she'll be here soon and will push her way in. It would be best to move everything as soon as possible if this is going to work" Itachi finished and got up to leave the table.

"Is anyone going to ask me what I think about this?" Sakura finally managed to say. All three heads turned to look at her, "okay, Sakura, will you go along with this plan?" Naruto asked. This plan had to go off with a hitch, these two had to get together and Karin had to leave as soon as possible. "Well… I don't know, it's a lot to take in all at once.." Sakura said quietly. Itachi nodded in understanding and stood up to gather the empty plates off the table.

Sasuke slouched a bit in disappointment and watched as his brother moved around a bit slower, he wouldn't show his own disappointment or hurt in front of Sakura but Sasuke could see the little downward twitch in his lip.

* * *

Sakura's mind was whirling, they wanted her to pretend to be Itachi's girlfriend in attempt to get rid of the crazy ex? There was no way, _'I want nothing more than to be closer to Itachi but he doesn't feel that way for me, it would hurt just too much after everything is said and done.'_ Sakura got up slowly from her seat and walked to her room, she could hear the others moving around in the kitchen and the hushed voices, probably talking about how bad of a friend she was. _'I opened myself to Gaara and look what happened there, and that's because we were actually dating! Ugh!'_ Sakura threw herself on her bed and yelled into her pillow in frustration.

Turning onto her side, Sakura turned on her Ipod dock and threw it on shuffle. Maniacal Me by Crown the Empire was the first song on, Sakura huffed at the coincidence. _'Of course, lets just scream that I'm hiding behind a fucking mask at a masquerade huh?'_ but she couldn't bring herself to change it. Was it even a bad thing to be hiding behind a mask? Didn't Gaara do that to her, doesn't Ino do that at the school? _'It's not like the rumors at school haven't started, especially after what we said today...'_ Sakura smiled at that thought. Gaara's face was priceless, it was well worth the lie that they both told, _'eh, what the hell, so what I have feelings for him maybe he has feelings for me too.'_

Sakura jumped out of her bed and threw open her door, walking out into the hallway she ended up bumping into Itachi. "Oh good, I was going to look for you," Sakura said, Itachi looked like he was going to say something but Sakura raised her hand to stop him. "Listen, the only reason I don't think this is a good idea is because I have feelings for you and I don't want to get hurt in the long run" Itachi's eyes widened in surprise, "but I have decided not to let that stop me from helping you, maybe my feelings with go away after being so damn close to you all the time only time can tell" Sakura finished with a bright smile.

Itachi couldn't believe his ears, here he was going to tell her that he wasn't going to ask this of her if it was uncomfortable, even if he did want it. "Sakura…" Sakura turned back around from her doorway, "you're not the only one who has feelings developing…" Itachi said almost too quietly. Itachi could feel the blush rising to his cheeks but fought off the embarrassment, "I would like to not only pretend, but to actually date you, if that is okay with you?"

Sakura's expression went from shock to happiness in less than a few seconds, and then she was throwing her arms around Itachi. Itachi wrapped his arms hesitantly, they stayed like that a few more moments before Sakura spotted Sasuke and Naruto poking there heads around the corner. They both ducked back behind the wall and Sakura laughed and pulled away from Itachi, "I guess that means we move my things in tomorrow right?" Itachi gave Sakura rare smile and just nodded before bending down to kiss her forehead.

Sakura blushed again and turned to go into her room, functioning on autopilot, Sakura got changed into her pajamas and laid in bed with a goofy smile on her face. Closing her eyes, she let the last line of the song wash over her, grateful for the little maniac it set free.

'You stare in the mirror and the evil you see is the menace within you that you have set free. Unleashing the beast brings the freedom you seek but there's no escaping maniacal me….'


	7. Set It On Fire

Set It On Fire

The next day went by in a blur, Sakura couldn't fight down the excitement she had at the thought of sharing a room with Itachi, her boyfriend. _'I'm actually dating Itachi, he asked me out, he liked me too…'_ she thought as she hopped on behind Itachi on his bike to head back to their apartment.

The whole day Sakura was just dancing around on cloud nine, no one was able to bring her down. Ino and her lackies had made multiple attempts at disrupting her day with petty things like shoving her in the hallway, or trying to trip her. Sakura just laughed and continued to dance to her Ipod without a care in the world. Which Itachi found highly entertaining, he was also enjoying her need for affection. She was always grabbing his hand or linking their arms together, which is something Itachi never did with anyone, it was… Nice.

Naruto seemed extremely happy with the development in the relationship and even though Sasuke didn't say much about it, they knew he was happy for them as well. Especially since he was going to ask to move into the new vacant room. Finding a good place was a pain and if Itachi was paying rent then Sasuke could focus on school, and of course Naruto would be trying to move in with his boyfriend. Which is why they were both heading to Itachi's and Sakura's place to help move her things, and hopefully get in their good graces.

"You told me think about it, well I did now I don't wanna feel a thing anymore, I'm tired of begging for the things that I want…" Sakura was singing along to Pierce the Veil as she watched the guys pick up her vanity and move it across the hall to Itachi's room. Itachi had moved his dresser to make room for her vanity, and even moved his clothing around in the walk in closet to make room for her clothing. Sakura was currently sitting on the bed in her new room, just watching the guys work when there was a knock on the door. Giving out a quick "I got it" and bounding down the hallway to let Kisame in. She quickly grabbed the takeout containers in his hands and went to set them on the table.

"What's going on in here that you guys couldn't get your own damn food?" Kisame teased Sakura before grabbing a take out box and eating. Sakura smile brightly at Kisame and grabbed a box as well, "Naruto and Sasuke are helping Itachi move my things into our room" Kisame raised an eyebrow at Sakura, "Umm… Wait, Itachi finally asked you out?" Sakura nodded enthusiastically and continued eating.

Itachi entered the kitchen and stared at the take out containers on the kitchen table, "it was of been nice to know that the food had arrived." Naruto and Sasuke entered shortly after and glared at Sakura before grabbing food and shoving it into their mouths. Sakura just gave them a guilty smile and tried to duck down the hallway with food still in her hands. Itachi grabbed the back of her shirt before she could disappear, "No eating in the back of the house Sakura, it attracts bugs." Sakura pouted as Itachi dragged her back to her seat at the table and sat beside her.

"So you finally asked her out" Kisame asked, Itachi just nodded and continued to eat out of his chosen container. "What brought on the sudden move?" he inquired, Sasuke swallowed the food in his mouth and cleared his throat.

"Karin is coming…" a horrified look took over Kisame's features at Sasuke's words. "No! Not that stupid stalker chick! She always calls me fishy…"

Sakura giggled but stopped when Kisame glared in her direction, "it's not funny, she is a horrible woman with bad taste in clothes. She has no class and no manners, I have no idea how Itachi put up with her" Kisame bit out, a sour look twisting his features. Sakura shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat in silence, thoughts of their future visitor taking over her thoughts.

 _'Is she going to be a lot of trouble, is she going to try to push her way into my home? Should I be concerned… What if she's actually attractive?_ ' Sakura's face was twisted in a frown. Itachi watched Sakura closely, noting the fast changing emotions in her eyes, like an open book. Itachi reached across the table and took Sakura's hand into his own tenderly "I assure you, everything will be fine Sakura" he said softly so he wouldn't interrupt the conversation between his little brother and Kisame.

Sakura gave him a grateful smile and squeezed his hand lightly, "when do you think she'll be here?" Itachi thought for a bit, "well it took me and Kisame about two days to get here ourselves, I say we have another day of peace before all hell breaks lose." Sakura nodded her head in understanding and got up slowly stretching out her muscles, "well I'm going to jump in the shower and go to bed, today was tiring"

"You didn't even do anything!" Naruto yelled after her, Sakura waved him off and continued to the bedroom to grab a towel before heading to the bathroom.

"Do you think she's realized that tonight is going to be the first night that you and her are going to share a bed?" Sasuke questioned. Itachi tensed and his eyes widened, that thought didn't cross his mind the whole time they were preparing the room. Sasuke chuckled and headed to Sakura's old room to make the now vacant bed, Naruto following leaving Kisame and Itachi in the kitchen.

"Dude, she's probably gonna freak…" Kisame said as he left Itachi at the table to go watch TV in the living room. Itachi sat at the table a while longer, _'how could I have forgotten the most important detail?'_ he heard the shower shut off and headed to the bedroom to talk to Sakura. He knocked lightly on the door and waited to be told it was okay to enter, "come in" Sakura called from within and Itachi entered. Shutting the door behind him, Itachi took in the scene in front of him, Sakura was brushing her hair in front of the vanities mirror and was humming along to the radio that was playing softly from the bedside table.

"Sakura…" Itachi started to say but found he couldn't find the words when he made eye contact with her through the mirror. She turned around to face him correctly and tilted her head slightly, making her look innocent. "Um…" Sakura raised an eyebrow questioningly at him and stood up to turn off the radio that was currently playing Of Mice and Men's song Would You Still Be There.

"Is something wrong Itachi?" she asked sitting down on the bed. Fear suddenly filled her eyes, "Oh my… You've changed your mind haven't you? I'm so sorry, I'll sleep in the living room…" Sakura hopped from the bed and started pacing the floor in front of him. Itachi quickly stopped her by grabbing her by her shoulders softly, "no Sakura, I just… You realize we will be sharing a bed, right?" Itachi asked softly. Sakura stared into his eyes with surprise, "that's what you're worried about? Ha, don't scare me like that" she said and broke away from his grasp to jump on the king size bed that was adorned in black and red sheets.

"I'm well aware, this isn't the first time I've slept in the same bed with someone…" Sakura said from her side of the bed. She patted the mattress lightly signaling Itachi to sit down, "Gaara did act like a boyfriend, he actually was decent before… Well sex got into the mix" she continued as Itachi got situated. As soon as Itachi was comfortable he nodded his head for her to continue, "I wasn't ready and Gaara was.. At first he was patient and then he just became distant and cold. I don't think he knows, but I know that he was cheating on me with Ino…" she trailed off.

Itachi's jaw clenched, looking at the girl who was currently sharing his bed in the most innocent sense, he couldn't help but wonder how anyone could do any harm to her. Sakura gave him a small smile, "It's okay I'm over it, I've learned to move on in the little time that I've known you. You and Kisame taught me to be stronger, both physically and mentally." Itachi relaxed a bit as she reached across to take his hand, "I'm still not ready for that next step, I hope you understand…"

Itachi lifted Sakura's hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of it, "I wouldn't rush you, I respect your wishes and simply want your company and to continue to get to know you." Sakura smiled at his words, a blush staining her face at his words. She moved closer to him on the bed but stopped herself, "not to be rude but, you need to shower" she said while pinching her nose playfully. Itachi mock glared at her and went to get out of bed, but was pulled back down by Sakura who pulled him back down for a chaste kiss.

Itachi's eyes widened, Sakura was blushing a deeper red and wouldn't meet his gaze. Itachi walked out of the bedroom with a dazed look and headed to the shower, _'I don't think I've ever had that happen before… And the feeling I get around her, it's so new, I knew I was developing feelings but I don't think I was prepared for this'_ he thought before getting in the shower.

When Itachi entered the room again, he found Sakura already sleeping, the radio playing softly in the background. Itachi's eyes softened at the image that Sakura created, her pastel pink locks contrasting with the black pillowcase. Wishing to keep this image forever, Itachi grabbed his sketchbook and pulled the stool from Sakura's vanity so he could sit and still be at the same angle. He quickly drew out a rough sketch before she could move.

After almost an hour of sketching, Itachi decided to climb into bed, laying a bit awkwardly on his side of the bed. It was almost another hour before he fell asleep, it was at that moment that Sakura turned in her sleep and draped her arm over his chest, feeling his warmth Sakura moved closer to him and curled up to his side. Itachi carefully brought his arm up and around her, getting comfortable. _'Well this is definitely a first time...'_ he thought as he felt the weight of the day's events finally pull at his eye lids. Pulling Sakura closer, Itachi let his eyes close, the song playing over the radio creating a soft ambiance.

When Sakura woke up the next morning, the first thing she noticed was the arm draped over her midsection. Looking over at the clock she saw it was only 6:30 in the morning, she could sleep longer but instead found herself turning over in bed to look at Itachi. She just looked over him, the low light coming from the radio's red lights casting a shadow over his features. _'Everything feels like it's moving so fast yet not fast enough, I can't help but feel… Like this is where I'm meant to be'_ she thought as she traced her finger lightly down his nose before giving him a little peck and turning to go back to sleep.

Itachi's arm tighten around Sakura's stomach, "what are you doing up so early?" Sakura frowned when she felt Itachi start to move his arm away from her, giving a little growl she pulled it back around herself and wiggled closer to Itachi. Itachi's eyes widened at her actions and he quickly moved his hips a bit further back, "it would be best if you didn't move in such a suggestive manner so early in the morning Sakura…" Sakura's eyes widened and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her throat, "I am so sorry" she managed to get out before burying her face in the pillow she was laying on.

Itachi cleared his throat and moved to get out of bed, "hey where are you going? It's too early to be up…" Sakura said.

"Yes it is, but I would rather not fight my bodily urges with temptation so close…" he replied as he pulled the covers away from his body to get out of bed. Again he was surprised when Sakura pulled him back down by his hand and into a kiss that was much more intense than the kiss from the night before. When they finally broke apart Itachi cleared his throat once more and sat on the edge of the bed, "that doesn't exactly help Sakura…"

"Who said anything about helping you?" she replied a hint of mischief in her voice. Before Itachi had any time to react, Sakura was pulling him back into a lying position on the bed and got on top of him. "Sakura what exactly are you doing" Itachi questioned the petite woman who was currently straddling his waist, his not so hidden erection being rubbed deliciously between them. "I just can't help it Itachi, I've never wanted something so bad before…" she removed her shirt to reveal that she wasn't wearing any sort of covering for her chest underneath.

Itachi's breath hitched at the sight before him, his shorts feeling a little bit tighter than usual. "Sakura, you said you weren't ready…" She leaned down to silence him in a kiss and rolled her hips a bit, making him hiss in pleasure. "I feel ready…"

Itachi sat up quickly, the alarm beside the bed blaring alerting the occupants currently residing in bed that it was time to start the day. Sakura was stirring from beside him, _'it was only a dream...'_ Itachi got out of bed quickly and rushed to the bathroom to take a cold shower before dressing.

Sakura watched curiously as Itachi rushed from the room and reached over to shut off the alarm that Itachi left blaring. Shrugging it off, she stretched lazily and got out of bed to start getting ready for her day. Walking into the closet Sakura picked out a dress for the day, a galaxy print dress with pink splashed all over it. She laid it on the bed and sat down to do her makeup in the mirror, lining her eyes lightly with black eyeliner and staining her lips a pretty pink.

When she started to change is when Itachi walked in, instead of freaking out like he thought she would, she continued to take off her night clothes. Itachi took a deep breath and walked into the closet to grab a shirt and jeans, trying hard to ignore the half naked Sakura who was currently behind him. Choosing to change in the closet, Itachi quickly undressed and pulled his jeans and shirt on, not noticing Sakura who was watching him with amusement.

"Embarrassed are we" Sakura teased, she reached down to grab some black ballet flats to match her dress and then grabbed her backpack. Itachi cleared his throat and ignored her comment, he grabbed his bag and followed her out of the room and into the living room where Sasuke and Naruto were already waiting.

"Could you guys take any longer? Geez" Sasuke smacked Naruto over the head lightly and headed out the door. "Hey what was that for!" Sakura laughed at their antics and grabbed Itachi's hand. Itachi laced their fingers together and they followed the boys, not bothering to lock the door since Kisame had fallen asleep on the couch.

After school, Itachi took Sakura to the gym to train some more. The official gathering of the organization would be upon them soon and he wanted Sakura to be at her absolute best. He didn't want there to be any questioning of his decision to allow Sakura to go to the meeting and partake in their activities. Kisame was waiting at the apartment to receive Karin and hopefully deter her from staying, the got a phone call earlier in the day from his mother and her news was not good news. Apparently Karin was on her way at least a day before they got the news, their mother just took her time calling Sasuke.

After getting the news, Sakura trained harder and pushed herself as hard as she could without hurting herself. Tenten, the girl she had met after her little tournament, was currently her sparring partner while Itachi watched and called out mistakes in form and strikes for both the girls. After almost an hour of sparring, both girls dropped down on the mats to rest, lying on their backs staring up on the ceiling is how Itachi found them when he returned from getting them water.

"Ladies, how do you expect to build up your endurance if you can't even stay upright after a sparring match?" Sakura glared at him from her lying position while Tenten just chuckled and started to get up. Scowling Sakura followed Tenten to standing position, "Sakura we have a visitor at the apartment…" Itachi whispered as she walked past him to follow Tenten to the sparring mat.

The only indication that she heard him was the slight tensing in her shoulders, following Tenten onto the mat she fell into a defensive stance.

An hour later Sakura and Itachi were standing outside the door trying to get ready for the inevitable, taking a deep breath Sakura moved to open the door first. The door was yanked open from the other side and a flash of Red was the only thing Sakura saw before she was shoved aside.

Itachi casually sidestepped the mess that was currently heading for him and moved to help Sakura up from her new position on the floor. "Itachi!" the thing in question screeched from the floor outside the apartment, "so which of you morons let her in?" Itachi questioned the three males who were standing in the apartment at the moment. Two fingers pointed the blonde who looked fearfully at the two figures in the front door.

"Itachi baby, I've been looking for you everywhere!" After being helped up Sakura turned around to study the girl in question. On the surface she didn't look like much, she wore a regular shirt and plain jeans and her bright red hair matched her red eyes that were currently lined in black eyeliner.

"What are you doing here Karin" Itachi asked quite forcefully, Karin stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.

"I came to see you silly, didn't you miss me?" her red eyes started to water, Sakura had to fight the urge not to gag at the scene.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her antics, "not in the slightest actually" Karin stopped pouting and rested her hands on her hips.

"I came to win you back, we can make this work, I know we could" she said while flipping her hair over her shoulder in an attempt to be sexy.

Sakura couldn't hold her laughter any longer and started giggling from beside Itachi, "when you're finished I'll have a nice snack made" she said between giggles and walked away from the two.

' _That girls not even worth my time, Ino's got a better chance than her'_ Sakura thought as she started to bring together the makings of a s'mores style dip and graham crackers. she could hear bits and pieces of the conversation they were having and it sounded like Itachi was just trying to get her to leave, Sakura grabbed some plates from the cabinets and made her way to the coffee table in the living room and set it down.

"You guys hungry? I made a light snack" Kisame and Naruto wasted no time in digging in, while Sasuke stood beside Itachi in the doorway blocking the redheads reentry. Sakura rolled her eye in annoyance and walked over to hear what exactly was being said.

"Come on guys, your parents already accepted me as a good future daughter-in-law. That's why your mother told me where you were, so we can fix whatever happened and move on to be the happy couple we should be" Itachi rubbed his temple in frustration while Sasuke just stared at the girl with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Hey guys, I'll take care of this, go get aspirin and dig in before Naruto eats it all" Sakura said as she gently led the poor brothers away from the doorway. Turning back to Karin she stuck her hand out in greeting, "Hello, I'm Sakura, how exactly can I help you?"

Karin looked Sakura up and down and scowled at her hand, "I'm here to talk to Itachi, not some slut visiting his apartment, where did he pick you up? The flea market?" Sakura smile as sweetly as she could before she replied.

"Actually, I live here with Itachi, since we're like- dating." Sakura said with as much cheerfulness she could muster. Using her best impression of Ino as she could, and Karin's reaction was priceless. First she was quiet, processing the information, then she turned an interesting shade of red before she let out a loud screech like scream.

"His mother didn't say anything about him living with some pink haired skank!" Karin yelled.

"Well she wouldn't have because she doesn't know, considering it's really not her business or yours for that matter." Sakura replied calmly, letting the fake cheer drip out of her voice. "Now if you are here on nothing but visiting terms then by all means, stay for a snack, but if you're just here to try to date my boyfriend then I will be forced to remove you from my home."

Karin was looking at Sakura hard, studying her, trying to see if she actually had it in her to follow through with her threat. Deciding to call her bluff Karin took a blind swing at Sakura, who caught her fist easily since she was used to much bigger men taking swings at her. "I see that you are not here on friendly terms…" Sakura muttered. Itachi walked up behind her and made her release Karin's hand, "Sakura, let her leave, I don't think everything should end up in violence." Nodding her head in acknowledgement, she turned to join the others in the living room to let Itachi deal with Karin, Sakura had come very close to losing her temper and that's okay in some cases but not all.

"Karin, as you can see I'm very content here with my girlfriend and family, I ask that you leave and don't try to find me again" Itachi was talking to Karin out in the hallway now.

"You're not serious are you?" she responded in disbelief, "that little girl doesn't even look like she knows what she's doing with herself let alone with a man like you!" Karin exclaimed. "I was able to please you, take care of you…" taking a step closer she leaned in to whisper in his ear, "I helped you release all your anger in such fun ways…"

Itachi took a step back, "Karin, that was the past. I have since learned control and believe it or not, Sakura is not a toy I use for release." Karin looked ready to argue, "not like you were" Itachi finished cutting her off. Karin's eyes widened in shock, the pain of the situation slowly creeping into her eyes.

"No… It was more than that…" she whispered desperately, "Maybe to you, but to me you were merely something to find release in and nothing more." His words hit her hard and had her turning down the hallway sharply, not sparing a look back she left the building.

When he entered the apartment again, Sakura was no longer sitting with the guys who were still eating the snack she had prepared. Walking down the hallway he could hear her singing softly from the bedroom, "Spend my days locked in a haze trying to forget you babe, I fall back down. Gotta stay high all my life to forget I'm missing you…" he opened the door slowly to see her swaying back and forward to the cover by Our Last Night. Walking up slowly behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist softly, swaying with her slowly.

When the song came to an end he spun her away from him slowly and brought her back in for a kiss, pulling away Sakura pulled Itachi to the bed. "I'm still not ready, but… I really want to try something" Itachi could only look at her with confusion showing clearly on his face.

Sakura laid back on the bed and had Itachi lay over her, she ran her hands down his chest slowly only to bring them back to his shoulders. She pulled him down for a hungry kiss, Itachi was surprised but didn't fight with her. He let her wrestle his tongue for dominance, stopping once in a while for air. Sakura gave him a shy smile and let him take her shirt off, and she took off his in return. That's how their night continued, nothing more than kissing, the radio still playing softly in the background…

" _You take my world and turn it up, turn it up, turn it up. Yeah the way you move you burn it up, burn it up, you set it on fire…"_

* * *

This chapter took me longer to update, and I apologize for that. My little sister moved back in with her newborn and three year old and it's been hell over here, but she's moved out again (like an idiot) and I no longer have to babysit my lovely little tyrant. I will try to update more frequently but it's kinda hard to continue when I have no idea if the content of my chapters are appealing to my readers at all, so if you wouldn't mind dropping a review that would be great! Until next time lovelies!

~ JulietZombie


	8. Wonderless

Wonderless

Weeks had passed since Karin's visit, after coming to terms with the fact that her and Itachi just weren't meant to be she visited often and Sakura welcomed her in. The guys were amazed at how well Karin was behaving and learned that one of the many reasons she acted the way she did was because her home life was just as bad as Sakura's old life. Karin was simply finding ways to escape, whatever the cost may be.

After the first visit Karin returned with a peace offering consisting of treats and drinks, and even an apology to Sasuke, Itachi, and Sakura for her bad behavior. Karin had since started training with Sakura and Tenten, together the trio were beginning to be unstoppable.

Sakura couldn't be happier with the developments in her life, her strength physically and emotionally were as strong as could be and she had a healthy relationship with someone who didn't just have one thing on his mind. Her life was actually going somewhere, even the meeting with the organization went well. After discussing it with her new friends the unstoppable trio joined as well, they were to be under Itachi's command which was perfect.

At the moment they were all gathered in their apartment to discuss how the meeting with the opposing organization, Red Sand, was going to be carried out. The leader agreed to meet and discuss terms of partnership, no weapons were allowed only body guards. Itachi agreed to the terms and assigned Kisame and the trio to be his 'body guards' and accompany him to the meeting.

"We all are aware that this is a trap correct?" all heads nodded, "we will go in unarmed but ready to fight, so ladies that means wear your protective gloves and be aware. Kisame will be standing to my right and I want Sakura to my left with Tenten and Karin behind her, understood?" Again all heads nodded in understanding.

"When is the meeting?" Karin questioned

"It will be held next Friday night, so a week from now." Itachi answered her.

"Any other questions?" the group remained silent, looking at the clock Itachi noticed they had been discussing tactics till 2 in the morning. "Okay, then we go about our normal routine and we'll go over our plan again before the meeting." Everyone rose from the table and headed to their respective areas, Karin and Tenten said their goodbye's and headed home while Kisame just crashed on the couch.

As soon as Sakura entered the bedroom she shared with Itachi, she threw off her clothes and climbed into bed in her underwear. Too tired to find suitable sleepwear, Itachi merely raised an eyebrow at her antics.

Itachi was pleased with the way their relationship was progressing, they found they fell into a suitable routine that complimented each other greatly. Any one looking in on their relationship would think that these two people just could not work out, with the way Sakura was always dancing and singing as compared to the way Itachi would sit silently and read.

Of course no one really paid attention to the little signs of affection, Itachi and Sakura tended to stay away from public displays of affection. Any kind of affection in public usually consisted of a little peck here or there, and they never lasted longer then a second. This didn't bother the couple in the slightest, Sakura was happy with the little pats Itachi would give whenever he wanted to show her that he was happy with her and Itachi had learned to listen to the songs that Sakura was listening to, usually they conveyed whatever emotion she was feeling at the time, which kept him and others out of trouble.

However, in the privacy of their own room was something entirely different, the two could not keep their hands to themselves. Itachi found himself constantly restraining himself to keep from overstepping the boundaries that Sakura had set when she informed him that she still was not ready for the next step. After one of their late night makeout sessions, Sakura had let Itachi know some of her private thoughts and feelings.

Sakura was afraid that if she just gave in so willingly then Itachi would only want that from her, Itachi didn't comment on what she had told him knowing that no matter what he said her fears would remain. Instead he chose to show her how he felt and how he didn't care for the physical coupling that usually went hand in hand with a relationship. So far no problem had arose, the only thing that put the couple on edge was the fact that Gaara was still following them every once in a while.

It took a lot of convincing on Itachi's part to keep Sakura from confronting him about it, arguing that it could be used to their advantage. He had yet to inform her how, but she backed off and continued to act like she didn't see the annoying ex whenever she went out.

Itachi climbed into bed behind his girlfriend and pulled her flush against his chest, Sakura was already fast asleep so Itachi reached over to turn off the light that was still on by the bedside. Settling back into a comfortable position, he felt that something was off, trying to figure out what the feeling was he noticed that there was no soft music. Writing it off as Sakura being too tired to even switch on the radio, Itachi let himself fall into a light sleep with Sakura still tucked in his arms.

* * *

The following morning Sakura woke up to an empty bed, looking around the room she noticed two things. One: Itachi's car keys were gone. Two: there was a note on the bedside table.

'Sakura, there was an emergency that needed my immediate attention I don't believe it will take me long. I will tell you what happens when I return. - Itachi'

' _Hm, I'm not surprised… Oh well better get up and get ready to meet the girls for training'_ Sakura rose from bed and walked over to the dresser to grab a pair of shorts and a shirt for working out in. Throwing on her sports bra, she walked over to the vanity to grab her hair tie and stopped, a feeling of dread gathering in the pit of her stomach.

She heard a weird noise from the front door, one that sounded like a weird click, she grabbed her gloves which were laying next to her hair brush. Throwing them on quickly she listened for any other weird noises, she could hear footsteps but they were light, like whoever was walking didn't want to be heard. The footsteps grew closer to her doorway, she rushed to stand behind that door to the bedroom in order to get whoever it was from behind. Listening hard she heard the footsteps stop right outside her door, forcing her breath to slow she watched as the door handle slowly started to turn. Forcing the adrenaline rush down Sakura stayed completely still as the door opened slowly, an adrenaline rush would only make her act rashly and right now was not the time to make a rookie mistake.

Whoever was opening the door poked their arm through the small opening, narrowing her eyes at a ring on the feminine hand she recognized a symbol on one of her fingers. _'So Red Sand decided to strike first'_ Sakura strained her ears to hear if there was more than one intruder. The door was opened wider and Sakura took the opportunity to slam the door on the arm that was poking through, the intruder let out a startled yell and yanked her arm back out, Sakura wasted no time in yanking the door open and grabbed the startled woman by the head and slammed her against the opposite wall.

Down the hall Sasuke yanked open his bedroom door, taking in the scene before him, he rushed to help Sakura, running past her he punched a guy who was coming up the hallway to help his partner. Sakura quickly rammed the girls head into the wall successfully knocking her out and turned to watch Sasuke knockout his opponent.

"Red Sand sent them" Sakura explained.

"How do you know that?" Sasuke questioned from where he was standing over the guy he had knocked out.

Sakura gestured to his hand, "he's wearing their symbol on a ring just like this girl is here." Sasuke bent down to inspect the ring and nodded his understanding.

"Itachi is gonna be pissed, we should probably move these two somewhere else…" Sakura thought out loud.

"Hey Sakura, we're here!" called out a voice from the front.

"Back here!" Sakura called back, Tenten walked into view and stopped at the scene before her.

"Do I even want to know?" Sakura couldn't stop the grin that came over his features at the look on Tenten's face.

"We'll explain later when we have everyone together" Sasuke answered as if there was nothing wrong with the fact that there were two strangers passed out in his hallway.

* * *

"How dare he think that he could move in on my home, attack my girlfriend and family, and then pretend that nothing happened!" Everyone flinched at the way Itachi was losing his composure, their usually calm and collected leader was not acting like himself.

The intruders were currently being held at on off site location that was owned by their organization, the Akatsuki, and were being guarded by some of their own. Part of the detail being Sasuke and Naruto to make sure that, if anything happened, Itachi would be informed immediately.

"Itachi, please try to collect yourself" Kisame tried to reason with his disgruntled leader. Itachi turned his narrowed gaze on his partner which had Kisame shutting his mouth and raising his hands in surrender.

Sakura shook her head at the way Itachi was acting instead of staying in the kitchen and listening to his rant, she decided to listen to music in the bedroom. At first no one noticed her disappearance but eventually they heard the music coming from down the hallway, Itachi's face twisted into anger and everyone took the oppurtunity to flee. Karin and Tenten made a beeline for the door with Kisame hot on their heels.

Itachi made his way to his bedroom and barely restrained himself from throwing the door open and yelling at Sakura. "I have fought and with flesh and blood I commanded an army, through it all I have given my heart for a moment of glory…" Sakura was singing along as she shadow boxed in front of their full length mirror. Itachi paused to watch her calculated jabs before walking into the room completely, taking a deep breath to collect himself he faced her.

"Sakura, the discussion was not over. Why did you leave" Sakura stopped her combo and turned around to face Itachi. There was a fire in her eyes that had Itachi's blood boiling instantly.

"Because you weren't even discussing our next step of action, you were just bitching and moaning about what happened" Sakura stated.

Itachi narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend, "I don't bitch Sakura" she rolled her eyes at his behaviour and turned around to continue her combos in the mirror.

Itachi closed the distance between them and made her face him, "Sakura I'm not done talking to you!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?! I don't understand why you're acting like this, this is not like you at all" Sakura exclaimed. "So what they showed up, it's not like it wasn't handled. This is not how our 'leader' is supposed to be responding to this kind of threat, what's going on?"

Itachi clenched his fist at his sides, "Sakura this is serious… You could've been hurt… How else am I supposed to react?" if Sakura wasn't standing right in front of Itachi she might've missed what he whispered.

Softening her voice, Sakura raised her hand to Itachi's face making him look at her. "So you were scared?"

Itachi looked away from her prodding gaze, Sakura tiptoed and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "It's okay to be afraid for the people you care about Itachi, it's normal…"

"This is not normal Sakura, this constant worry and fear should not be present" Itachi responded a little harshly.

"Hey, don't be like that with me" the warning in Sakura's tone had Itachi's blood boiling again.

"Sakura…" Itachi started, she stayed silent waiting for him to continue "I just, I can't lose you, I just got you and I've never felt this way before. I'm not saying it's well... **That** but it's pretty damn close and I'll be damned if I have it taken away from me."

Sakura's face softened into a small smile, the softening of Itachi's tone had her stomach fluttering all over the place. Turning his face softly she leaned in to kiss his lips gently, returning the kiss Itachi took it a bit farther and coaxed her mouth into opening for him.

Forgetting their argument for the time being they just continued to kiss, not really minding the momentary distraction it provided from the stress of the moment.

Losing themselves in the kiss soon they were laying on the bed, the music in the background creating an illusion of time going by slowly. The beat giving them reason to enjoy each other's wandering hands and soft lips.

Breaking for air, the couple stared into each other's eyes getting lost in the emotions that were playing under the surface. The couple began kissing again, this time with more need in every motion. Clothes were being shed with no second thought, a decision was made and there was no going back on it now.

Sinking into each other, they let the music wash over their bodies late into the night. The fears melting away with each stroke and caress…

" _If you don't find me on the front page, find a way to say that you saw me, and if you don't find me at all… Then I won't care.."_

* * *

I know this one is short and for that I apologize, I will work on a longer chapter for you guys soon and hopefully it won't take as long as the last one did.

Feel free to drop a review/flame I welcome them all! ~ JulietZombie


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